I believe that the journey is just as important as the destination, as is reflected in one of my favorite quotes by author J.R.R. Tolkein. Sit back and enjoy as I wander through life, keeping in mind that Not All Who Wander Are Lost!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Choosing Ralphie

Nothing is official until blogged - isn't that the mantra of the technological age? Well, let's make this nice and official, then...

I have officially chosen to attend CU this fall. It won out most directly over Ithaca College, but in the long run, also over Colorado College. I'm not going to go into the why of the decision, but I'd be happy to explain to any curious individual.

Just to get the details out of the way, I will be in the School of Arts and Sciences, majoring in Film Studies (more specifically, hoping to get a BFA in film production, with a narrative concentration) along with a minor in literature. I will be participating in the Honors Program, more specifically, the Kittredge Honors Program (the honors RAP), so I will be living in Arnett Hall. I will also be a Norlin Scholar (which won out over the President's Leadership Class). Oh, and finally, I hope to study abroad at some point.

So, there's my upcoming four years in a nutshell, but in a greater sense of the term, this all boils down to one thing for me right now: excitement. I am absolutely bounce-in-my-chair excited for college. Sure, it has something to do with finishing off the 27-odd days left of school, and maybe it also relates to the 43 mere days until Boston and all the LeakyCon madness, but in general, I am really looking forward to college.

I can't wait for the freedom. I'm feel ecstatic at the thought of not being confined to a concrete building with no windows from 7:30 AM until 2 (or 3) PM every day. I know I've been even more trapped at Fairview - particularly this year - due to my lack of un coche, but more than that, I'm sick of the regularity, the monotony, the similarity of every day. I can't wait to have a schedule I can choose, to have classes at sane hours of the day (which does not include getting up anytime before the sun is high in the sky), and to have variety - some classes M-W-F, some T-Th; some discussion based, other lecture style... all that.

I can't wait for the change! While at first I was terrified of leaving home and being on my own, the comfort of staying in the Boulder has allowed me to feel intrigued at the thought of dorm life, of managing a budget, of managing my own meals and schedule. I'm looking forward to the change of pace, to the opportunity to grow, to feel like a grown-up, to be living my own life (in that cheesy Teen chick flick film kind of way).

This is definitely nerdy (hooh-hah... Nerdfighters!) but I can't wait for the classes. I'm so excited to leave the days of "World History in two semesters" behind, and enter the realm of "Society and Culture Under the Roman Empire" and "Good and Evil in Film." On this note, of course, I can't wait to explore my major, the subjects that really interest me, and to be able to choose my classes in more detail. CU's class catalog reads like a phone book, so I'm sure I'll have more classes than I can ever partake in to chose from.

So, this is reading like one of those teenage-girl-discovers-self-and-prepares-to-enter-real-world novels... but as I've been shopping (and re-shopping) for CU sweatshirts, selecting a date for orientation, taking placement tests... and seeing this all take shape, I finally understand why everyone would always say they were looking forward to college. This may be the late realization of a house-bound only child, but this is starting to look like more than a scary experience to deal with; and instead, a bountiful adventure ready to be undertaken.

I'm sure when I'm knee-deep in textbooks for my first round of finals, hearing these words parroted back will make me feel stupid, but as I head toward a MAJOR new chapter of my life, I have to take a moment to say... wow. I've come so far from the days of dreading Outdoor Ed and lounging on couches at Horizons. I've moved past the shock of 2,000 people in one high school. I'm leapt beyond the fear of leaving home, of being on my own, of not knowing what the future would bring when I stood on the stage at graduation (or at least, did so metaphorically).

So, maybe you've enjoyed this rambling and sporatic bolding, and maybe this wasn't a coherent or purposeful blog or review (remind me to tell you about Life of Pi!), but consider this a journal entry, a time stamp, a piece of a time capsule: I'm roughly 40 days and one SUPER summer away from something big...

And I couldn't be happier or more excited about it.

Now, bring me that horizon. :)
... Oh, and some scholarship money would be nice too.


2 comments:

Matt Beaty said...

1) For the record, I liked the old look better.
2) I did enjoy the sporatic bolding, and it was a very coherant blog entry. It reminds me very much of how I felt at the end of last year as I walked up to CU for the graduation rehearsal. While excruciatingly dull, it made very clear that we were DONE! (Of course, your writing is much more coherent than my thoughts were at the time)
3) College is everything you are hoping for and oh-so-much more.

Finally, make sure to enjoy your last days in high school. Yes, they are a monumental pain, but they are also the last days of highschool you are going to get.

PS. Your writing is splendiferous. Easy to read, appropriate emphasis and great content, especially with this post. Well done :-)

Wendy said...

Oh Laura, there was nothing incoherent about this and infact had me crying. (oh and the bolding was a nice touch) I forget sometimes when I read your posts at leaky and you blog postings that you are a high school senior, you have an old soul my dear (that is a compliment). You have a talent and I can't wait to hear (or read) about it as you learn more about you and what you can do as your college adventure begins.
And as Matt said before me, enjoy the end of this time in high school as dreary as they may seem, it is a time that when you are older you will look back on fondly, I promise.

And I can't wait to see you a little over a month!!!