I woke up early this morning to grab breakfast at Pines in Muir before class at 10 in the Engineering part of campus. It was exciting being somewhere new on campus, it gave me the confidence that I'll soon be able to navigate this campus completely unassisted :)

***

Today's lab revolved around the usage of HTML for the creation of our own web pages. I expected to be bored the whole time, and couldn't have been more wrong! The lab was great! I learned a lot and really loved the project. Coding was something I never planned to tackle, but I'm so glad I did. See my work here :)

After making it back to Revelle, I attended the ELP welcome reception. Because I received a partial scholarship of $120 and a satisfactory payment plan, I signed up to participate in the program, as did Sherry! I'm super excited that this whole program has worked out. I'm very optimistic about my future within it :)

After watching some more AHS (I'm now slowly chipping away at season 3, and before you ask, I can't apply for work until I receive some important pieces of mail so ha!), I headed to Price for the first UCSD Democrats meeting of the year. The speaker, Lorena Gonzales, was very interesting and amusing. I'm glad I went because of her alone, but in addition, there was pizza, so #FreeDinner

More to come!
XO

First day of Monday classes, which for some rotten reason begin for me, this quarter, at 8AM. Luckily though, I was (basically) able to make it to my classes without a map! Yayyy #FeltSuperAccomplished

***

After CSE3 lecture, and Rev1 discussion I stopped by Price Center with the goal of eating, and picking up some school supplies. Unfortunately, only the first of those 2 objectives was accomplished. But, I didn't get a delicious milkshake with lunch! :) #TeamChocolate

***

In Rev1 I met my TA and discussion leader, with whom I share a name! After she let us out early, and I made it back to my dorm and snagged some more AHS (the ultimate goal these days, ha!), I walked over to Price to complete my shopping, purchased a smoothie to accompany my goldfish and waited patiently for the first BSU meeting of the year to begin!

UCSD's BSU is BOMB. They're well put together, fun, event-oriented, intelligent, and exciting! I really enjoyed the meeting, and can't wait to get involved :)

More to come, friends!!
XO

It was really difficult to wake up this morning, I guess because I don't have anywhere I need to be or anything I need to do. I miss my family sooo much. (I'm crying as I write this, ha!) I just want to hug my mom, and kiss my brothers, and talk to my dad in person. I feel very isolated & alone without them.

And now Pandora is playing "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder which means I have to straighten up & get myself together. This must just be a part of my journey, but I tell you this: I cannot wait to get home for Thanksgiving. I am more determined than ever to make it happen. It's a helpful idea to me because it means I've really just gotta get through October. Then, come November I'll have my concert to look forward & then I get to leave!!! :)

***

Unfortunately, I missed my group interview for the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) this morning, but I've got an individual interview set up for 1:30, and I'm gonna work my hardest to be impressive. I really want this: I want to be in this program, I want this to work out for me, I want to prove to myself that I'm in the right place right now.

I have 2 big goals for this school year: maintain at least a 3.3 GPA and get deeply involved in at least 1 club or program. I'm hoping ELP can be a part of my latter goal.

 


After getting myself together for the individual ELP interviews, I was pleasantly surprised to see Sherry was also applying! When I made it back to my dorm, I decided to nail down my Thanksgiving plans, and was thrilled to tell my folks that I'll be taking the train home to visit! :)
I literally could not be more grateful to Ms. Sharon than I am today. Her generosity has already made my transition so much easier. She's a blessing in the flesh.

***

We had a (mandatory) suite meeting this evening to establish ground rules and norms for the shared space, and later invited suite 250 over for games. They're rowdy, and amusing. So the night ended with lots of laughs :)

More to come!!!
XOX

Of course, my late night partying on Friday lead to a luxurious sleep-in on Saturday. When I finally woke up (well-after 10AM), I used my laptop to catch up on Empire, Scandal, and HTGAWM (all of which I've been invited to watch live with Jasmine in the future)! After catching up on television, I showered, threw on a summer dress, and grabbed some dinner.

 


I ate in the lounge while finishing up season 2 of AHS, before meeting up with the girls for another night of dancing in their dorm only this time Alvina joined in! After dancing, we settled down to chat for a while with a new friend, Amanda who is very opinionated, in other words: I like her a lot :)
We eventually finished chatting, and I made it to bed by 3AM.

More to come!
XO

Friday dawned bright and early for me with an 8AM Chemistry class, luckily it's nearby so I don't have to be up extra early. I head to my dorm for a nap between classes and end up on my computer, updating blogs, and what not...

 


My second class ends at 11:50, and so give into my taste for Panda for lunch (and after a shocking discovery that the bowls are much larger here *gasp*) I meet a very nice sophomore by the name of Winnie after she asks to sit with me (I had admittedly struck gold with a shady seat at Price during the day). We chat and Winnie shares her story and advice for my first year. We exchange numbers, and I'm glad to have met someone so kind :)

Friday night, I join Karina, Vivianna, and Jasmine in attending the girls soccer game against *gasp* CAL STATE EAST BAY. After a few minutes of confusion, I end up cheering for East Bay, but we leave before the game ends, ha! When we make it back to Revelle, we end up having a dance party in their dorm until 2AM! It was a great night of learning new friends, and just relaxing :)

More to come!
XO

FIRST DAY OF CLASSES!!!

My first class was Feminist Theory (Gender Studies) in Muir @ 12:30. I went early to eat breakfast in their dining hall (sausage & a biscuit with honey, yum!). I got a lot of strange looks because I chose to rick my UCLA tee, but hey, it's hot here! Anyway class was small, and calm, but the professor seems intelligent and competent. The class, she said, will be heavy reading about a topic I'm very interested in, so I'm excited and anticipating coming out much more educated on the other side :)

With nothing to do between classes, I sat around for an hour and forty-five minutes. Next was Revelle 1 in Center Hall (down Library walk). The teacher was incredibly kind and spirited. I ended up sitting next to a guy from the Bay who was kind, if not a little chatty. But we got along fine.

***
I bailed on a dorm trip to the cliffs to video chat my beautiful family! I was worried hearing their voices would made my heart sick, but my joy overpowered my sadness and we talked for an hour about everyone's adventures since Tuesday. Mom sounded so excited, and Dad looked so focused, ha! It was so wonderful seeing and hearing them, but after we hung up it took everything I had not to cry.

More to come!
XO

I woke up Wednesday determined to be busy, so I threw on my walking shoes and some sunscreen, grabbed my map, and set about finding every single building and classroom I would interact with this quarter.

Surprisingly, my travels were mostly straight-forward, and I was able to find all of my classrooms. The really great surprise came on my way back to Revelle when I ran into some orientation friends (Vivianna, Athena, Jasmine) and a new friend (Sherry). We had some really good, funny conversation followed by smoothies and more good conversation! I needed that, and I'm glad they were there for me :)

The ladies later invited to join their dorm (Blake) on a trip to the cliffs to watch the sun go down. The view was amazing, and despite going to beaches my whole life, that view was breath-taking. The sunset felt therapeutic. I couldn't help but be excited about bringing my family there next time they returned to La Jolla-my brothers would love the view. I'm sure of it.

More to come,
XO