Oberlin Blogs

Week one: no classes and already behind?

September 5, 2010

Zoe McLaughlin ’11

I got back to Oberlin last Tuesday to help run College Orchestra's booth at the Music Resource Fair. On that note, if you want to join College Orchestra, we have a general interest meeting on Wednesday at 6:00 PM in the Con. Just go to the lounge, and someone will tell you what room we're meeting in.

After Tuesday, I thought I would have a pretty relaxing week, during which I could do things like unpack, hang up posters, and read all the YA novels that are still on my 'to read' list. That's not what's happened.

Instead, I've spent most of my time adjusting to living off campus. Now, if I want to meet up with people, I have to trek down to campus and hope that I can find them, instead of just walking out my door and down the hall to their door. Now, if I want to check my e-mail, I have to bring my computer to campus, or make use of the computers that are scattered around campus for people to use. Consequently, I've spent a lot of time in the Mac Lab in the Science Center, because bringing my computer everywhere got old very quickly.

I've also been trying to get meetings and work that's not associated with classes out of the way before classes actually start. This has been somewhat successful--I've met with some professors to talk about research, and I've met with Shansi to talk about their fellowship (which I'm applying for). Those meetings went really well. I got a lot of information, and now have a better idea of what the coming semester is going to look like.

Other meetings have not gone as well. I tried to get a locker for my violin in the Con and failed, because I'm not a member of a Conservatory ensemble nor am I taking lessons this coming semester. College Orchestra doesn't count as a Conservatory ensemble because we're student-run, and I don't have enough credits open to take lessons. I can already tell that lugging my violin around is another thing that's going to get old very quickly. My plan is to go back in two weeks and try for a locker again. Hopefully that will work out.

And now it's Sunday already, and I'm still not done unpacking. Clearly that, along with the reading that I have for classes already, will be my priorities for the next two days. And then classes start. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet.

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