My Three Adopted Children

Today (Friday), we were taken to complete service projects and learn more about our new hope, Spartanburg. And we were split into various groups (including SPACE, Arcadia (!), Downtown, Soup Kitchen, and more). I was put into Arcadia. Arcadia is a school in Spartanburg with approximately 66% Hispanic population, which is the most in all of South Carolina. Moreover, they allow the kids to attend school approximately 48 weeks during the year. And students attend from 7:00am to 6:30pm. The students, according to the principal, are knocking on the doors trying to get us to let them in before 7:00am. Also, all students receive a free breakfast, lunch, and snack. The trip was amazing. Once we arrived, I decided that I was going to adopt three of the children. And they would be mine. And they would all have different mothers. But whatever right!? ☺

P.S. BTW I’ve decided that I’m going to be living there for the next 4 years as a mentor for all the children

Showering In Front of Your Class

So, today (Thursday) we were in our “Summit Adventures” which are all of our breakout sessions (4 of which were held on campus and out of Camp Greystone) and it was AMAZING (I just realized that I say that word WAY too much! lol). This is why a bunch of us went back to the campus last night…and I have to say…I thought that this was INCREDIBLE (yes, I found a new word!)!!! So, the “adventure” that I had was “Pulling Back The Curtain” which was all about theater and which included us doing a performance in front of all of the people (and staff) at Wofford College at the time (many from the Freshman class were still at Camp Greystone). So, after completing a few acting exercises (including me being a Canadian moose who terrorizes people and me having a “great time” with someone whilst her roommate was in the room) we went on to create our show for the rest of the class (there at WoCo) to see…mine was showering: the differences between girls and boys.

“Don’t Drop The Soap: A Day In The Life of The Wofford Showers” was born…which included me sleeping in until about 10 minutes before my 1st class, putting on smelly shorts, using a smelly t-shirt as a towel, dropping trouser in front of my class, washing my face right after washing my butt…. after being frozen for a minute in a butt washing position…all in pantomime in front of my classmates….and the deans….it was GREAT! This all occurred while my friend Tori was a frantic showerer who simply could not get everything together without MAJOR stressing…it was GREAT!

And when it was all over, I realized how much I missed the theater, and how much I missed being on stage and having people talk to me after the show about it. It was AMAZINGLY INCREADIBLE!!!! And I don’t know if I can EVER go back to not doing shows…even if they are just improv. troupes…and I think that I might prefer that…but I don’t know….I guess only time will tell, at here at WoCo I think that I will discover all of this within my 4 years here…but again, only time will tell, but I CAN’T WAIT!

Peoples

So, living with what is your soon (in 4 years) graduating class is an interesting thing…especially if the friendly peoples at O-Staff are involved. So, after a LONG (almost 24 hours awake) 1st day at college, I woke up (via my friend Lisa and my alarm and because of some “biological clock” that said, “Now it is time to wake up” in a British accent) and took care of my morning essentials (shower, hair, teeth, ect) and as I was just beginning to wind down a little and collect my thoughts about the coming day…here comes this hideous (although altogether hilarious) siren blaring and the voice of an O-Staff member (whose name I probably found out yet forgot) said, “If you can hear my voice…it is time to wake up…we are leaving for the Summit [a camp experience at Camp Graystone in which typical camp activities i.e. The blob, canoeing, tennis, rock walls, water slides, soccer, four square(!), and more are all thrown at the Freshman class to have fun with for about 8 hours] in an hour….Y’all best be getting’ ready class of 2011!!” And I did get ready (though I was already in the process but who cares) and I was able to hang out for another 45 minutes or so until we loaded the buses and headed out for Camp Greystone. It was interesting…to say the least. After all of the “camp activities” we enjoyed (perhaps several times) by the student body, we were introduced to the shag. The shag, if you have not heard of it is the “offical dance of South Carolina” so, it’s pretty much a big deal…and this means that EVERYONE at WoCo had to learn it and this was an awkward time for all, it was like 6th grade dance all over again, learning to dance and having to dance with a random girl you just met…can you say AWKWARD!? But it was fun, and I have to admit, the shag is actually a fun little dance and I will be taking it with me throughout my life…so if nothing else I learned a dance at Wofford! YAY! Then we were given a Wofford orientation 1st, a live band! So we were able to dance (and not just the shag!) and it was F-U-N!!! Then a group of people (or 4 groups of people (to be explained later)) headed back to WoCo because we had BIG PLANS for the coming day. So far, WoCo has been AMAZING! There are AWESOME people (like Nam, Caroline, Lisa, David (times 4), Tori, Maggie, Cameron, Velma, Kelly, Mallory, Matt, Daniel, and a TON more people!). And we had a GREAT time! And hopefully, we will continue!

First Day

Long lines. Lots of people. Lofting a bed. Television stands. Meeting new friends. Meeting Facebook buddies. Random moments with new people. Long lines. Sleeping through dinner. Meeting families. Apples to Apples. Drama. Wicked. Helen Keller. Salsa. Ceviche. Pillows. Popcorn. Hallway chats. Missing doggies. College humor. Massages. Krispy Kream at 2 AM. Red Bull. Amp. Doubleshot. Coffee. Pictures. Music. Rock. More pictures. Pillowtalk.



Wofford Tuition-$35,000
Energy Dinks and Krispy Kream-$15
Making memories that will last forever and having an AMAZING 1st night at college-PRICELESS

So, after MONTHS of planning (sorta), days spent shopping (yes, DAYS!), and hours (yes, hours not days) of packing I’m finally here at the good ole WoCo…and I have to say….they make for some welcoming people! After getting in line to unload all my dorm stuff I could pack up in my Aunt and Uncle’s BMW I was ready to unload, and before I could even start, the WoCo “O-Staff” (Orientation Staff for all y’all not here) had unloaded EVERYTHING that I had just packed up! WOW….and the bag that I had taken out of the car because it was up with me was out of my hands before I realized that they had finished it all…..now that takes some dedication and some skill! That first experience here really let me know that the students here were welcoming and that this was going to be a GOOD year! ☺ And then when I got everything worked out in my room (at least a little) there was a nice dinner prepared (yes, it took ALL day!) for me and my mama and all the other students and their parents….it helped again to show how much Wofford cares about the students and it showed me that this transition was going to be a nice and smooth one that would be aided by the wonderful Southern folk! And being able to go to my room and hang out with like 20 people that either I had met that day or at least 1st seen face-to-face for hours….actually, for all night! :D what can I say we had to have Krispy Kream doughnuts and Red Bull….we had cravings, and they had to be satisfied! And even as I write this…probably delirious from a lack of sleep and from too much sugar and caffeine, I know that everything will be ok…I was able to meet a TON of new people from all over the US (Tennessee, New Jersey, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and more!) And being able to play a game of Apples to Apples and just invite random people who are walking by to join in and really jus talk and get ot know each other…I mean, It was great!