"Good Morning" One Time Too Many

I started my Sunday morning like any other, sleeping in until 9, brushing my teeth and going down for breakfast. Unlike many of my past Sunday’s however, I had to run down the hall to complete my morning routine and sprint across campus to grab some cereal and fruit.

The campus is always buzzing with life, whether you’re taking a stroll on campus or having breakfast in the lunch area. It’s hard to get used to forty different “good morning” greetings while your hair is disheveled and mouth is full of toothpaste. As I searched for a table to set down my breakfast, Shanti, Helen and Frank, a student at the summer college we became acquainted with through a game of Frisbee, were making their way out the door. I looked around the dining hall nervously. Arriving to breakfast late had its cons  includes the lack of cheese and strawberry Danishes available and the other was the lack of students, and if a table showed signs of life, the seats were occupied from end to end. As I searched the room, my eyes glanced over a young man sitting alone at a round table with one of those high chairs that I had to hop onto in order to settle in.

Venturing through these beauties. 

I was reluctant about approaching Harold at first. If anything, this program has taught me that holding a phone out at during a meal is the equivalence of signing your soul off to the dark lord. Once I was perched in the chair however, Harold put away his phone and timidly poked at his bacon bits. I learned that Harold came from Hong Kong and frequently returns to North America to study in Connecticut and Vancouver. The two of us discussed many topics, and the matters that we covered opened countless new discussions. Although we chatted until the end of breakfast and the stroll around Ho Plaza in an effort to locate our classrooms, we had an endless list of untouched topics. 

Nevertheless, Harold isn’t the only student I’ve created a list of undiscussed topics with. Maddie my roommate; Olivia, Annie, Sophia, Charlotte, and Naz from our hall; Deirdre our RCA, and Lana the RCA from the third floor; Victoria, Frank, and Evan from our Frisbee game and many others have earned their own special list.

I returned to my dorm to freshen up before being called down for the long awaited scavenger hunt. I couldn’t hold in my grin as I pictured the students on campus scrambling to find items hidden across campus and the excitement in our dorm when they call us up for first place. Everyone gathered in the center of the hall and we walked over to the science hall together. The scavenger hunt turned out to be a friend hunt and hiking experience. We met with another group of students in a grassy area and 

Sitting around after the game.

merged groups. The RA’s lead a game for students to get to know one another. Someone would exclaim a fact about themselves and if a person shared a common interest, everyone would link arms. Eventually, everyone’s sweaty forearms were linked one way or another and the game came to an end. Afterwards, we took a hike around campus, migrating from our dorms, far to the end of campus and returning back to the dorm area where the next activity awaited us.

Everyone stared down at the chalk drawn squares on the ground uncertainly. The object of the game was for a student to walk across the squares in a certain order. After every round, the RCA would announce how many blocks were incorrectly crossed and the next student would have to interpret which pathway would be correct. After one mind-boggling game, everyone took refuge on the ground. That was the end of the scavenger hunt. Everyone flowed into the RPCC building with sore legs and empty stomachs.

After lunch, Shanti, Helen and I returned to our dorms. After a week of dining and sweating, it was time to take the clothes to the wash. I’ve done laundry at home before, but laundry in college is different. The three of us pondered about the process of loading money into our Cornell ID’s for a solid half an hour. Following this, Helen and I dragged our bags down five stories to the laundry room where we had to swipe our cards and punch in the wash number where we delivered our clothes. With a heavy finger, we pushed enter and tensely listened to the tumbling of our clothes. After a few minutes, Helen and I established a system where she would text me when the laundry finished and I hop down the stairs to swipe my card for the dryer. To think that I used to complain about dragging the laundry up to the second floor. After thirty sets of stairs and a pair of blistered feet, I have my first bag of clean laundry at Cornell.

As I finished the first section of reading for class, Shanti knocked on the door. We made our way to Mary Donlon hall where the activity fair was taking place. The fair allowed students the chance of participating in their hobbies on top of taking the class. Despite our instructors warning that Hotelies would not have the time to partake in outside activities due to the rigor of the course, we decided to explore the scene.

That wasn’t the best idea. Shanti and I are renowned for getting everything we lay our eyes on. 

Getting caught red handed.

Familiar RCA’s encouraged our participation in their activities and interests in the activities lead us to succumb to their requests. We fully abandon our resolves, the two of us signing up for activities. It took all my willpower not to join the Summer Times newspaper, but once the RCA caught me taking pictures of her stand, there was no turning back. I signed the contract, putting down my Net ID and sealed the deal. Shortly after, Lana the RCA put the spotlight on me, shouting my name out in the megaphone and asking for my participation in the yearbook. Thao revealed my identity as a dancer, sending me to the dance club, and Shanti urged me into the theater club. Thankfully, the RCA’s admitted that meetings for these activities are not mandatory. At least I won’t have to worry about my e-mail getting lonely for the next three weeks.

We returned to our dorms for the last time that day. A group of the hotelies came together to organize a plan for getting to class on time. Although I’ve made it to campus in one socializing and exercising can be rewarding and enjoyable, but at the end of the day, settling down in bed with a book in your hands is the best way to end the day.