Move-in week has ended and I officially finished my second week of classes! My housing arrangement is quite different than most of the usual dorms; I live in a suite. There are four bedrooms with two girls in each, a common room, and a bathroom. Being a resident of Fluor Tower definitely has its perks. For one thing, the gym is visible from the rooms, so not finding time not to go is no excuse. Another reason why Fluor Tower one of the best places to live is air conditioning! It’s nice to walk into my room from the hot, sticky outside air and relax on my bed without glistening (or sweating).
Move-in day was hectic. No, hectic is an understatement. It was chaotic! There some people moving in truckloads of stuff while others carried a couple of suitcases and a bag full of bedding. And no matter how many times you think you’ve completed your “buy from Target” list, you were still forgetting something. I met all of my suitemates throughout the day, but my roommate was missing in action. Even on the second and third day, I was still living alone. Then finally, I walked in Friday afternoon, and there was a suitcase and a couple of boxes on the other side of the room. “Finally,” I thought, “I have a roommate”. Later that evening, I met her as she was walking into our room. I greeted her with a welcoming smile, but I noticed she was slightly hesitant. As it turned out, she was moving out in a week. Why you might ask? She was invited to train for the 2012 Olympics for archery! Although I’m currently without a roommate, it was kind of nice to have someone else there for a change, especially since I’ve lived with only my parents for the past 18 years.
For Welcome Week, they planned a series of activities such as a dive-in movie, welcome back dance/foam party, welcome back concert featuring the band Hellogoodbye, welcome back comedy show featuring Joel McHale from The Soup and mirco seminars. I attended as many activities as I could so I could meet as many people as I could before the real work began. My classes began on Monday. I have nothing to complain about because USC has an amazing faculty no matter what course you are taking. One course, Journalism 190, has guest speakers such as Maria Shriver (whose daughter is in my freshmen class) and other renowned people in journalism. For the past two classes, we have had the opportunity to know a little bit more about the faculty at Annenburg, which is crucial for me. However, the first night that class met was the first night of an entirely antagonizing experience: rush.
Sorority fall recruitment is a process that I would not wish on my worst enemy. The pressure and anxiety, not to mention the amount of energy it takes, was hardly tolerable. The process goes a little something like this. Every girl puts their best effort to look their best and stand out from the rest of the crowd, requiring hours to get ready, hours that could have been spent eating or doing homework. Then we walked from house to house talking about the same things over and over and over again. By the end of the first day, my mouth hurt from smiling. It was a difficult process because you’re entire opinion of that house was based solely on the fifteen minute conversation you had with three girls, making it difficult to narrow down your selection and wondering how they would narrow down theirs. After visiting all of the houses, you pick your top seven that you would like to return and rank your bottom three. If they wanted you to return, then they invited you, if not, you got your bottom three. Out of my top seven, two invited me back and I got my three bottom choices. The same process of elimination continues until you finally chose a house. I joined Alpha Delta Pi or ADPi for short. These girls caught my attention because they were genuine and down to earth, a combination not frequently found. I honestly could not be happier with my selection.
Well, there you have it. My first three weeks at USC. It’s been long and fun and I can’t wait for what is to come next. Until then, FIGHT ON!!
