Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Fitting in as a College Kid (and Doing Alright)

I can only pray that nobody peers over a certain shoulder - that of the short Asian girl who never says a word and sips cautiously at the school food that nobody else seems to be eating - and sees this post being written at the same time. However, with one comes the others, and I don't know any of these people. As I employ my skills of single-handed typing (from a few too many sprained wrists), I find myself in the almost-lively cafeteria of Bellevue College.
As a teen, I'm generally social. I'm happy to start conversation with people at my school who I don't really know and hope for the best. Frankly, though, it's a little intimidating when the people around you are all much taller than you are and know maths beyond even your advanced classes. I look around and see faces of people taking a break from biochem 160 or taking data for the statistics class. In fact, when those students come around I am forced to reveal my identity as not from here.
Don't get me wrong - I love BC. The campus is very pretty and the people seem alright to be around - at least from my observations - if not friendly in general. I find art everywhere, whether in the form of a statue in the courtyard or this wonderful sun-speckled mural on the cafeteria window. I haven't yet gained the confidence to talk to too many people, though; I ordered some soup and asked for directions but barely spoke audibly. However, the atmosphere is lively and friendly. I'm only intimidated by my own standards of peers. I actually hope to meet a few people and be able to chat, since I'll be here most of the week.
My mother's taking a class in the science building - biochem 160, as I said - and I've spent most of my time there or in the cafeteria. There's a wall-sized window that looks right out at the courtyard, and the chairs near there are marvelous for my back. Mom says that I would fit in well as a college student mind that I would have needed to finish my high school education. After taking summer classes this year, I was feeling pretty big-headed as I hadn't many to talk with. Now that I'm at the college and around folks speaking humbly about their algebra work, I feel a little smaller in ego, too. I'm thinking that this has prevented me from talking to many, though I'm sure I'll find an acquaintance at one point or another.
In comparison to my last post, BC is very diverse. Wherever I go, a new language is added to the fluency list of the student population. Because it's finals week for many, groups of students (many of the same ethnicity as their peers) chatter about course coverage and testing, at least from what I can see when papers and passed around. Many of these people are excited for the end of their courses, though I can pry a few anxious faces from the crowd. I feel pretty bad for them, and I often mentally with others luck.
With that said, I'm not going to look at anyone. As a growing teen, I've become more immersed in social problems revolving around older teens and young adults. Colleges seem to be hotspots for all sorts of danger, and I'm keeping a careful eye out for anyone following me too fast. From my careful writerly observations, though, I've been introduced to a medley of characters through the people there. For instance, there's this one guy who has worn a top hat and schmancy clothing for the past few days. He seems alright. TopHat hung out at a table near mine yesterday and was pretty nice to the others. (Drat, I feel like a primary teacher...) I'll probably be running into him again some time.

As for my NaNoWriMo and other projects, my NaNo file was corrupt and refused to open yesterday morning, resulting in a loss of 6,000 words. I decided to join my mom here so I could get more work done...yeah, that's going pretty well, considering that I spent the past fifteen minutes blogging...

All the best and more soon,

Ruby

Update (minutes later): Okay, I'm back in the science building. Someone just sat down across from me. She looks alright. Lady just walked by walking her pet dog, doesn't give a crud. I wish my dog were here and wouldn't chew everything up.

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