Commuter Chronicles #6

Rachelle Saint Louis
Oct 1, 2018
6 min read

Sept. 24th to the 28th

Monday was a mighty fine day. I got a spot on the second floor of the parking garage, super close to the elevator even though I took the stairs. My knee wasn't giving me too much trouble that day. I listened to my audiobook for a bit before heading to class. I was halfway through Turtles All the Way Down by John Green at the time.

We played Kahoot in my Bio Lifeline. It was fun but stressful because the signal is terrible in the Sanson Life Sciences building so most of our phones were lagging. Everyone got an extra credit point for playing and the top five got an additional two points. I was not in the top five, some of those questions were really weirdly worded and it was much more difficult than I was expecting.

I brought my laptop to school on Monday for the first time. It made me realize why so many students choose to bring their own laptops instead of depending on the computers in the library. For one, it was super easy to bring it around places like The Office of First Gen and get work done without having to worry about using the desktop. It did make my bag a lot heavier so I carried my laptop by hand for the most part, but I do think this will become part of my Monday routine.

The applications for Orientation Leaders opened up Monday. They're due by November 4th. Mia has been really helpful with that. She reviewed my essay and she's helping me make the video for the application. I want to try to get it done ahead of time.

In the Office, we had our usual colorful conversations about classes and relationships and everything else. There were familiar faces and a couple new ones. The Office has been one of the easiest places for me to meet people so far. Jaireen, my friend from high school, stopped by. She said she's been planning to come by The Office and she was good on her word.

My lab was okay. We're going over plants and we have our practical exam next week. I thought I did really well on the last practical, but when I got it back and I found out I'd only gotten an 80. I got some wrong that I was so sure of.

After class, I went to the library to work on homework. I was under the misconception that my math homework was due Monday, when in fact it was due Tuesday at 11:59 PM. I don't know how I got so mixed up. Nonetheless, I did get a lot of homework done.

On Tuesday, I had my scheduled meeting with the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). It was my first session, so I was supposed to get there at 12:30 as opposed to 1. It went really well and I'll be meeting with her every other week.

I went to the Cru meeting at 6:30 and that was a lot of fun. The preaching was about the types of friendships we have and how that can affect our relationship with God. He also pointed out that we as believers should be a beacon of light to our non-believer friends.

Wednesday was a mixed day. I had two exams and a quiz. The exams were in SLS and Social Psych and they were each pretty easy. I got out way earlier than usual and went to the Office of First Gen after SLS. After Social Psych, I sat with Mia while she was tabling on the Breezeway for the Urban Male Initiative Institute. We talked about relationships and guys who just weren't getting the message.

My quiz in Precalc didn't go as well as I was expecting it to. I got my first D. Thankfully, two quiz grades are getting dropped at the end of the semester. I guess that will be one of the ones I drop.

After Precalc I saw Erik from high school and we talked for a bit before his bus to the tri-rail came. I then went to the Breezeway where I saw Ken You, the peer coach, and some others. We talked for a while before I headed back to The Office.

After The Office, I went rock climbing and made it to the top my first try. I tried going again but my arms kept giving out so I ended up leaving. I made it up to the top way faster than before, I'm definitely improving.

Thursday was a great day. I hung out with my mom in the morning and we ate lunch together. Then I went to the school around 1. I got there and found a parking spot around 1:30. I sat in my car for a bit, listening to my newest audiobook. This week I'm listening to Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

I went to the Breezeway to see what was going on before class. I ended up at the Owl Radio table and they made my day. They kept telling me how cute I was and that they liked my vibe. They gave me a sticker too, which is great.

After my Bio class I saw Jerry and Darnell and we talked for a bit since class got out early. I left around 5:30 so I could get to the NCNW meeting. We talked about self-care, broke out into groups to make raps, and made sugar scrubs. I had a wonderful time.

I met another girl there and she showed me the Open Mic Poetry meeting that day. I ended up performing an old poem there and it was great. I really miss performing. I feel like these organizations are where I'm really making friends on campus. That and The Office, of course.

On Friday, I just had Social Psychology (where we had a pop quiz) and then I was done for the day as far as classes went. I saw one of the people I met in the Office while I was on my way to buy lunch from Chick n Grill (which I like to call the bootleg Chipotle) on campus.

I ordered my burrito bowl and we walked to The Office together. I was telling him about the sugar scrubs we'd made in NCNW on Thursday and he didn't know what a sugar scrub was. Long story short, we're going to make sugar scrubs in The Office next Friday.

There were quite a few people in The Office this Friday. We had some great conversations about relationships and school and there was a rap battle halfway through. Overall, I'm happy that I've found The Office of First-Gen. I feel welcome there, it's like my home away from home when I need someone to talk to or just want a friend.

Around five, after the Office closed, I headed off to rock climbing. I met some new people and saw familiar faces. Turns out one of the reasons I can't seem to get up on one of the sides is my shoes. They're too flexible. I didn't even make it to the top of the side I'm good at. My arms were still pretty sore from Wednesday, and my legs weren't going up as far as they usually do so I guess that's part of it.

This would be a dream come true for Dennis.

I went to Bible Study around 6:30 but it started almost an hour late. Dennis was enjoying his broccoli. While we waited for things to start, we all talked to one another. They're all pretty interesting people.

When we did start, it was a great time. We started off with our highs and our lows for the week, then we had the question of what food we would love an endless supply of. After that, we went of Matthew 5:3-11. It's basically about the kind of people God will be looking for to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. We discussed what we thought each line meant and we also added a few other scriptures in like one from John and Psalm 43. It was a good environment to fellowship in and I really enjoyed it.