Quick recap of the day. Had to wake up bright and early (5:30am to be exact) to squeeze in a run before taking the 6:56 train. Luckily I do not need to be at Columbia as early on a daily basis and can take the 7:48. After all, I need my beauty rest. The ride to the train station naturally involved my mother recapping every first day of school of my childhood and how my sister and I used to pose on the steps for a picture with our lunch boxes before sending us off. Thank goodness there were no photographs this morning! The sentimental moment was then followed by Cindy Lou telling me how I never leave enough time to get to the train and should really think about departing at least one minute earlier. I, on the other hand, believe I left a perfect amount of time and was even able to get a Starbucks iced coffee (thankfully there was no line) and still make it on board! Unfortunately, my commuter luck did not last long. When I got off at 125th and got on the cross-town bus (which miraculously pulled up just as I was exiting Metro North) I swiped my Metro Card and found a seat. To my dismay, the driver preceded to yell across the bus that there was no money left on the card (figures) and to come back to the front. I argued with him for a few minutes until he stopped the bus and made me get off. So not cool on the first day of school. I'll have you (Liz) know that I did not freak out because fortuantely the subway was just a block away so I was able to take the railway route without a problem.
Got my id, got some more coffee and mingled a little bit before beginning orientation. Our keynote speaker was CNN News Anchor Soledad O'Brien, who gave an engaging presentation and was very inspiring to all the students. On a side note, I have always loved her TV voice. We were also welcomed by many of the faculty and administrators, which lasted until about 1pm. Then I met with my Reading and Writing Class, which will take up most of the first semester, in which we will learn how to research, report facts, story tell and much, much more. Our area of coverage, otherwise known as a "beat" is Brooklyn. Starting in October, we will be traveling to different neighborhoods in Brooklyn finding people to meet and stories to tell and then publishing our work on our class website (more on that later!). I've got a great professor and a very interesting mix of students. More recent college grads than I had expected, which was nice because I thought I would be the youngest one. A bunch of us had lunch at a nearby spot afterwards and got to know each other.
The day culminated with a gelato party, which was both refreshing and delicious. I wish there was free ice cream at school everyday! I'm looking forward to the Happy Hour get together tomorrow evening, which will be a great opportunity to meet some more people. All in all, it was a successful day that made me more anxious and excited for the next ten months of my life. Sorry, I know this wasn't a quick recap. Nor was it completely coherent I'm sure, but I wanted to get my thoughts out there! I'll have to get used to writing under pressure, as we have our first writing under deadline drill first thing Monday morning!
Oh, and I almost forgot. Great Yogi quote on my tea bag this evening: "Feel great, act great, and approve of yourself."
That is all, my friends. G'night.
I approve of your gelato party!
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