Kittens. That You Can Touch!

There are kittens. Kittens that you can touch. A FIVE MINUTE WALK AWAY FROM CAMPUS. How awesome is that?

Upon learning this past summer that there were kittens right near campus that were being taken care of as they awaited adoption, I was excited to be able to visit them. My first week here alone, I went to the Community Action To Save Strays (CATSS) kitten headquarters located in the Ginko Gallery about four times.

Believe you me, I will be there many, many more times before the year is up.

Aside from having to be organized and having someone who is a relative stranger sleep in the bed next to you, the strangest thing for me about living in a dorm (or in my case a co-op) is not having pets.

I have grown up with having at least one cat in the house, and for the past 6 years, a dog. As a result, the distinct lack of furry friends roaming around my living quarters is quite sad. The other thing I noticed more recently, however, is the fact that it also leaves me more stressed.

As far as schedules go, I have a relatively busy one. And it's been especially difficult because I have been both sick and dealing with depression.

Lucky lucky me, however, has already found a stress reliever, and it comes in the form of the adorable little fuzzballs that temporarily live at the gallery. (I even have given myself and excuse to visit by volunteering with CATSS as a photographer.)

As the year progresses, I know that being able to visit the kittens will be a great way for me to relax for a while, even if I bring my homework with me. Finding that one thing I know will always keep me calm was pretty much the best thing that could have happened to me so far. Working for them as a volunteer photographer is just my cover... Whenever I need to relax for a bit, take a break from an essay, anything, I pack up my camera and my teddy bear Boris and head over to Ginko.

My hope is that my ability to cope with being in a new and different environment is something that will get stronger as the semester progresses.

Until then, I'm more than happy to just hang with the cats.