Moving in - one first-year's tale Examining the trials and tribulations of Orientation week

Author: Katie Glass

"So you must be going away to college," said the man behind the check-in counter at the airport, as he suspiciously eyed my five massive suitcases.

I was quite proud of myself for condensing everything I owned into these suitcases the night before. "It's very cold in Vermont; I need a lot of sweaters and winter jackets," I added, feeling he deserved an explanation for the size of my luggage.

However, when I finally arrived at my tiny double room here at Middlebury, I realized that if my roommate was to also live in this room, I had brought way too much. Secretly I prayed she a) would not show up, or b) would bring absolutely nothing with her. Neither proved true, and I was forced to shove my beloved belongings under my bed or into plastic boxes.

My next obstacle was surviving orientation. The pressure was on and it was intense: Whom should I sit with? Why was everyone staring at me? Why did everyone have so many friends already, and more importantly, why didn't I have any? How was I possibly going to get to know all these people? I clung to my unsuspecting roommate for dear life, figuring that would at least look cooler than hanging out with my father. I soon found that in being herded around to different events we were being distracted from the fact that we were experiencing one of the "biggest transitions of our lives". Only when my parents finally left did this realization sink in.

The square dance on Thursday and the all night "Back to the 80's" dance party Saturday introduced us to the first of many sleepless nights that would become a fact of life here at Middlebury. Some students even got their "first chance" at the appropriately named "First Chance Dance Party"-for a select few this was the first chance for true love - for many others it was a first chance to get acquainted with the Parton Health Center. During orientation, friendships were made, memories were created, fun was had, and the class of 2009 was introduced to life at Middlebury. There was no turning back - after Convocation on Sunday we became official college students.

This brings us to the next, and slightly less enjoyable part of the college welcoming process: classes. It was inevitable - we knew they were going to start sooner or later. We went to registration and spent hundreds of dollars on textbooks, but somehow I had never thought about actually working in college. Not having done any serious schoolwork since my acceptance letter arrived several months ago, I found my first day of class extremely difficult, even surreal. In my first class my professor assigned 150 pages of reading due the next day. Surely he was kidding, I convinced myself. In my next class I was assigned an essay to be completed for the following class. Were all the professors here crazy? My next class included 12 grammar exercises as well as an entire book to read. I was sure this was all a conspiracy. How had I gotten tricked into actually paying for this cruel and unusual punishment? In talking with older and much wiser upperclassmen, I was told that it would get better as we learned how to manage our workload more efficiently, and that the shock would eventually wear off. Until then, I ran aimlessly around campus trying to get everything done while still having a life outside the library. Although, I hear the library is where all the hot parties are happening these days with the new Vermont liquor law...