Julio

I’m homesick. This time it’s bad, worse than the first time. After a week-long hiatus from anything academic, spending the night back in my dorm is anything but exciting. I say this bitterly after spending the week perusing through books, laughing with friends and family, and being affectionate with my cats.

Isn’t he splendid?

While I was home I had the best time. Thanksgiving was spent with loved ones, so on the right is a cheesy selfie of me and my girlfriend.

🙂

The food was terrific, and all in all it made me realize how much I was homesick, and how much I have to go and make Iowa my new home. I traveled a whole state over, and it’s really hard getting used to it.

I couldn’t forget about black Friday! I went really early (9 a.m) to Half Price Books and got a tote bag and a lot of books for 30% off! On the left is The Fountainhead,  Tender is the Night, and a collection of John Steinbeck short stories. I got that for $15 dollars! I love saving money, I’m like a 40 year old mom when it comes to coupons and savings! 

I wouldn’t say that I’m not excited to be back here in Iowa, it’s more or less that I’m ready to go back to my warm cooked meals and rest up. For months teachers warmed me that college would be difficult, and they weren’t lying. I guess it just takes some time to adjust. It does suck that it’s almost December and I’m still adjusting. Just counting down the days until I can wear my ugly sweater, and still in search of home sweet home.

I’m sorry that it’s been a month since I published a blog. October is the busiest month of my whole schedule, I worked over 70 hours and explored Iowa. I also went home for the first time to see what’s wrong with my computer and whatnot. It was a really busy month.

My trip home was great! I got to see friends and family that I haven’t seen in months, it felt like longer. It was my mother’s birthday so I hope she had a good time! I traveled by bus, and it wasn’t that bad. If it was a straight shot to Milwaukee, that would’ve been a little better, but I had to detour through Chicago. This was also in time for the World Series so the whole city was buzzing with excitement. 108 years is a pretty long time. The total time it took to get home was seven hours. One of the hours was just waiting at the terminal. For saying they have free WiFi, it’s pretty horrendous. I ended up bringing The Catcher in the Rye and finished it by the time I got to Milwaukee. Space wasn’t an issue, there was enough. On the way to Milwaukee they caught someone who tried to sneak on the bus. It was the coolest thing I saw. He sat right in front of me, so the driver pointed in my vicinity and said “YOU” in a thunderous voice. I was scared to be honest, but it ended up being the person in front of me. All in all it was something I needed. Being away really killed me, and I get to see them again in 4 days so that should be fun, I love Thanksgiving!

Since then it was all just crunch time for my classes. I do an abundance of studying and it’s paying off for me. The only real slipping point for me was the election. Man, what can I say? I’m not conservative or a Republican, but I’m trying my hardest to keep an open mind. The University has handled the election well, and though I feel there is a divide between political views, I feel it’s heightened for me since I am Hispanic. I was the subject of the attacks by our President-elect, and though there is a tremendous presence of his supporters here on campus, I genuinely feel safe. When it comes to rural Iowa I understand that views might be a little different, but I hope that we do not protest each other, but instead educate and move forward to unite one another. The election brought great division, and no matter how many lashes of hateful words get thrown at me and my people, I hope that we stand united and don’t crumble to the standards they think of us.

Since then however everything in college has been going smoothly. Things I find fun now are a bit strange. For example, I had to run to CVS to pick up some deodorant and I stood there for 5 minutes trying to figure out what product was the most bang for my buck. I also went into Prairie Lights for the first time and was not disappointed, easily the best bookstore I’ve ever seen. I picked up Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (fellow Wisconsinite) and got a good deal on the book. It was an interesting time for me, and college is so far everything it was promised to be. I just hope that everything at the end will turn out the way I visioned it in my head.

*Takes deep breath* it’s October, and college has decided this is the week that I’ll do all my mid-term papers. The crunch is real. I have two tests on Wednesday with one on Tuesday that covers a whole chapter of my Spanish class, and I have to work Tuesday, and on Wednesday I have three classes. On Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I have to work. Plus on Thursday my Philosophy paper is due, and I have to eat and prepare to go home at the end of the month and ahhhh.. *Exhales*

Can’t go wrong with a Narmer from Erber and Gerber and a Blueberry-Pomegranate Vitamin water

This is the difficult part of college. The management of of everything put together is strenuous: work, school, family, friends, this blog, and studying. One thing I learned is that the more you do, the more things have to go right. I believe it was the Notorious B.I.G. that said “Mo’ money mo’ problems,” and that philosophy can be implied here. One thing I learned however, is to take it one day at a time. Read your planner and see what you have to do, then like a running back on the goal line, tuck your head and push through. If you freak out about everything, then nothing will get accomplished.

Along the way of my trucking, I found my favorite place to study. Aside from the ITC, I spend most of my time in the Hawkeye room of the IMU. It’s always quiet, it has food right next to it, and it has a TV, so when you’re done studying you can look at what’s happening on the news or in the football game.

But the crunch is real now. They say pressure makes diamonds, but it also bursts pipes. I always wondered why freshman GPA is lower than everyone else, and now I see why. Time management is difficult, but like I said, keep your head down and keep trucking, you’ll find the end-zone.

SO. Here I am, in the Currier ITC computer lab. My computer has a bad charging port, and therefore doesn’t work. Thankfully the ITC is here in Currier and I can just come down and use it whenever I need to. I feel bad for those who don’t have one, like in Burge where there is only one computer for use. Along with that, classes are in full swing, and boy do I feel it.

So for one of my classes, I had an exam that I felt so confident for that I just slacked on the work. When it came time to take the test, I was so lost. Along with that, all of the homework was online, and since I completely forgot about the ITC, I did it as sparingly as I could. So just do your homework and don’t forget to study no matter how confident you are. Also, this computer issue is no joke, my advice is don’t undervalue your computer and how important it really is when it comes to college (all the Netflix and Hulu you can’t watch).

There are some good things that came from this circumstance however. For example, it’s harder to browse the web on an ITC computer so you stay more focused down here. I feel as if this was the sign I needed to get back into focus. Plus it’s always quiet, and a lot closer than the library. They have a printing station here as well, so I don’t have to go anywhere else for printing. Finally, there’s always a free space. Take a look at this!

Moral of the story is don’t count your chickens before they hatch.