“Boom, Boom!” This is
the sound that I heard when someone abruptly knocked on my door . I think that it would be
best to inform you that it was 12 PM and maybe it was necessary since I had no
intentions on waking up early to do anything. My friend Jada barged into my
room and demanded that I wake up, so that she and I could go to the V Dub, a
dining hall at Brown University. I moaned and whined like a small child being
woken up by their mother stating that it was time for her to get ready to go to
school. I knew that I couldn’t actually stay in bed all day, so I opted to go
with her to the V Dub. Nevertheless, there was a problem with her proposal
which was that she was going to leave in 10 minutes and wanted me to meet her
there. I know that this might seem like an easy task, but if you are like me
and get lost easily, this is a difficult request. I eventually got dressed and I saw my friend
Kadian who invited me to join her and a few of her friends for brunch. I inferred
that Jada might have left the V Dub already, so I did not bother to try to
catch up with her and decided to go with Kadian instead. After we ate brunch we suddenly remembered that the Ratty, a
dining hall located closer to Perkins, was closed and that we would have to
commute all the way to the V Dub in the morning before class for breakfast. If
you could not already tell I was not optimistic nor enthused with this reality.
I am not a happy camper and I really wish that the Ratty was still open so that
I wouldn’t have to wake up 30 minutes earlier to go get breakfast. I would like to see this as a lesson in life
due to the fact that things will not always go the way I want and I will have
to make accommodations. My friends and I jokingly stated that we
would buy granola bars and keep them in our room just so that we don’t have to wake up
early in the morning.
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| Hurry Up Kadian! |
After brunch, my
friends and I headed back to Perkins Hall and Kadian continued to walk
increasingly slower. It was really hot outside and I wanted to get back to
Perkins as soon as possible which made Kadian’s pace even more frustrating. Of
course she is my friend and I still waited for her, but I really wanted her to
hurry up. I learned another lesson from this which is that I have no tolerance
for slow walkers and I need to acquire more patience. I already knew that I was an impatient person before I arrived at Brown and acquiring more patience was another personal goal that I had
set aside for myself.
 |
| Waiting "Patiently" for Kadian |
We finally arrived at
Perkins and I was invited to play cards with Avery, Julia, Eve, and Jada. I learned
how to play three new card games with the help of my friends. Originally, I wasn’t
going to play since I did not know the rules of the game. However, my friends
did not mind explaining the rules and even slowed down to help me play. They
were extremely adamant about including me in all of the games even though I slowed
them down. At one point Eve and I were a team when it took me a little bit
longer to catch on to how the game should be played. I have never experienced
such chivalry and helpfulness especially when dealing with other teenagers. This
was the first time that I had ever been around a group of girls that truly
acted as if they cared about me, were authentic and actually wanted to be my friends.
After I finished
playing card games I went out to get dinner with Sarah, a girl who lives in
the dorm around the corner from mine, and ended up bumping into Kadian on the
way there. We all ate dinner together, but separated after some of us wanted to
go to the Ice Cream Social and others did not. Although I am not new to Brown I
wanted to meet some of the new people that just arrived before I fly back to the Bay Area on Friday. On the way to the event a boy ran past me in a hurry and a girl ran after
him in a disruptive pursuit. She was shouting, “Help! Help! He just stole my
phone!” I couldn’t react fast enough and I just moved to the side. My mouth hit the
floor and my heart was pounding. I have never been in a situation like that before and
I hope that I never will again. A few older men tried to chase after the pair,
but it was evident that no one would be able to catch the thief who seemed like
he ran track in school. While I tried to compose myself I met a guy named Andy. He was
also flabbergasted about the scene that we had all witnessed and theorized that
the two might have been playing—highly unlikely. Andy offered to escort Sarah, Arianna,
and I to the Ice Cream Social since we all had the same destination in common—what
a coincidence. While we walked to the Ice Cream Social I learned that Andy
taped his name to the bottom of his shoe just like the toy Andy in the Disney film,
Toy Story. He told me that whenever people meet him they immediately think
about the toy from Toy Story and he decided to make a joke out of the whole
situation. I was really amazed on how Andy chose to look on the brighter side on
things instead of getting defensive when people talk about how he has the same
name as a Disney character. I could learn a few things from Andy’s positive
outlook on life since I get offended when people call me Alicea instead of
Alicia. Now I understand why Brown was ranked number one school in the
country with the “Happiest Students”. By the time we arrived at the Ice Cream
Social it was time for my community meeting.
After the meeting ended
I walked home with Vivian. Vivian probably wasn’t the best choice for a walking
buddy since we are both terrible with directions and did not know the way back
to our dorms. Somehow we managed to wonder our way back to Perkins and I got
ready for bed. I accidently knocked over my desk shelf and all of my belongings flew all over the place. My roommate Mandy got
out of her bed, helped me place the shelf back on my desk as well as helped me pick all of my things up despite me
reassuring her that I could do it myself. I am impressed with everyone’s
behavior today and I hope this becomes an ongoing trend that follows me back to California.
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