It's Coming

The time has come to finish up dorm shopping and begin to pack for college. After today I'll be jumping in the car and driving 75 minutes to Moraga, California, where I'll move in to Saint Mary's College of California. Soon, I'll be saying goodbye to Davis for a look at a whole new experience – freshman year of college.

I'm starting this blog mainly as a way to keep people I care about updated about my college experiences. I can't wait to start school, and I know that it'll be tough to let everyone know each and every detail of my SMC life, so I plan to cover some of the basics right here. As of right now, I haven't chosen my classes or even gone to orientation; I missed the in-state orientations when I was in Nicaragua with my school physics group. So instead I'll be attending the out-of-state orientation right before school starts, on August 24^th. I move in the day before early in the morning. Let's hope I can get all my stuff arranged before I go off to my math placement exam.

I'm also excited about meeting my roommate, fellow rowing recruit Stacey. We've been messaging back and forth since summer began, and we get along quite well. It'll be awesome to finally see each other in person. We won't officially meet the rest of the team till our first crew meeting on August 29^th. We can work out on the rowing machines at the gym near our dorm before then – got to stay in shape. Then, conditioning begins a week later on September 6^th. Looks like I'll experience two “labor days” in a row. ;)

Back to the dorms, though. Stacey and I are rooming in a double in Saint Catherine of Siena Hall. I'm so happy I'm not in a triple – I really did not want the added stress of fighting over two closets. I'm told our small dorm has bigger rooms – I think I can get over the very Catholic name if that's true. I'm starting to realize that a Catholic school might not be as liberal as Davis, CA....

I've said my goodbyes to almost everyone. There have been tears, of course, and a lot of smiles and promises. I hope I can keep them all. These past few weeks have been a very bittersweet experience, as I knew they would be. But enough on that, everyone knows leaving for college is sad, and exciting. I'll probably post again with some pictures of my dorm room, and SMC. Wish me luck!

-Michelle