Where the Sun Shines Too Little, and Where It Snows Too Much

My first morning waking up in my room was blissful. I woke up around 7 o’clock and decided to tour my floor. I realized that I was the only person on my floor who had an early check-in, but my RCA, Emily Del Greco, was at my here early as well. This morning, I received my swag bag, my Cornell ID, and my room and mailbox keys. It was really quick to get my items because I was there thirty minutes early.

Afterwards, I went into my room to finish up my blog from yesterday. Today was the day where Mr. Chan-Law was going to bring us to Target. We went to Target to buy necessary items, for example laundry detergent, or to buy additional items, such as shampoo, toothpaste, or hangers. I personally love going to Target because I really do get lost in deciding whether I need colorful pens or not. After buying out necessities, we headed back to Cornell to eat lunch at the Robert Purcell Community enter, or the RPCC. When arriving at the cafeteria, the line extended on the steps. I thought we would not have much time eating lunch, but I was wrong. The line went swiftly, and all seven of us went in. The seventh person is not Mr. Chan-Law, but my “sink mate,” Kate. My dorm has an extra door that leads to a shared sink, an experience that I never had. It was fun talking to her, asking her questions, and even sitting next to her during the Dean’s welcome speech at Bailey’s Hall. On that note, I will transition to the occasion that happened at 2:11 PM.

Bailey Hall

The Dean’s welcoming, as I will say again, was held at Bailey’s Hall. It was beautiful, gorgeous, and

The Gorges are Gorgeous, but Dangerous

amazing. The projector, with a slide of Cornell’s logo, was on the stage, centered for everyone to see. The comfortable seats were a nice blue green, more green than blue. There were a lot of people who came to Bailey’s Hall, and listened to the few speakers that communicated their excitement, gratitude, and humor to the audience. I had a blast sitting down, and I really felt like a real Cornellian. The event started off with a video, introducing the wonders of Cornell. It was quite poetic, and the videos went well to what the narrator said. A few speakers spoke today, two deans and a professor. They were informational, excited, and humorous. I definitely learned a lot today, but I never knew how dangerous certain gorges at Cornell were. Some gorges, which are not meant for swimming, are beautiful yet treacherous. There is some science behind people getting drowned by the strong current that spirals even the best swimmers cannot escape. It was terrifying. Mother Nature can be risky, so beware.

After the speech, everyone in the hall went outside to find a sign that for their class. Many signs wereheld up, such as “HOTEL,” “ART,” and “PSYCH,” but I was not certain. I had to ask someone what course this was, and sighed in relief to hear “The Individual in the Social World.” The group consisted of different individuals with their parent or guardian. I was nervous to be walking “alone” to our destination, since Shanti, Julie, Stephen, Helen, and Justice are taking courses with each other. I felt the urge to talk with someone, but I didn’t want to be rude and take them away from their parents. When we arrived at Malott Hall, we went up the stairs to where we would meet our professor. Professor Gilovich, arrived late, so we did a mini ice breaker before. The ice breaker was just to mention where we came from. A bunch of kids were from New York and China, one was from 

Ithaca, and I was only from the Bay Area. It made me realize how many people come from different parts of the world, seriously. Our gathering involved Professor Gilovich summarizing the course. We received our syllabi and our section number. To dive into more detail about the section number, we psychology students are split up by last name into four different sections that are in different rooms. I’m still not 100% sure about the system actually is, but I will go with the flow. After the meeting ended, some people decided to talk to me, Lucy and Frank. Lucy, who was sitting in front of me, turned around and asked if I was from NorCal or SoCal. I replied with NorCal, and she followed saying that she was from SoCal. Finally, someone from California, I was not alone. It was nice bonding with her, especially seeing her look so fashionable in her bold, red jacket. I also met Frank, who shockingly knew me before I introduced the ILC. Apparently, Julie and Shanti had the opportunity to talk to Frank and tell them about my energetic and charismatic personality. It was funny when they asked if I drank caffeine, because I don’t. I know that my energy level has been going down since the past year, but it’s nice to see that people still notice my enthusiasm.

We all went back to our dorms, and soon at dinner at around 5:45 PM. Dinner was held at the RPCC for a buffet-style meal. The style was the same as lunch; I really don’t think the food changed at all. I ate dinner with Stephen, Justice, and Helen, but soon migrated over to where Frank was. After seeing him, Justice, Helen, Stephen, and I decided to play frisbee. As we have discussed before, Helen and Justice are professionals when playing ultimate frisbee. Then, I see Frank with a volleyball, playing with his roommate Nick. Bottom line, I played volleyball for an hour, before and during the ice cream social. The game was a fun way to socialize with people and to have a great workout. I had the most fun hitting the ball and having hilarious moments with the circle. As it began to rain, we still played but soon decided to go to the ice cream social.

During the ice cream social, I did not taste the Cornell-made ice cream. I had a few bites of it, but I decided not to wait in a long, stuffy line for ice cream. Stephen and I forced each other to talk to someone random. To explain, he would tell me who to talk to, and I did the same. It was fun to be able to talk to many students, but I decided to retire a bit early because I wanted to get a lead in my blog.

At 9:30 PM, our floor had a floor meeting in the TV lounge. Since I was here a day earlier, I checked the decorated tags to see who lived in the dorm. I was finally able to meet eleven people today, but one is missing from our group. We had an ice breaker and then went straight to the important business, the house rules. Emily got us straight into the packet, discussing about alcohol, check-ins, and more. Our meeting did not officially end until 11 o’clock, but I had a blast with the girls. I know that we will have a blast for the next three weeks; I can’t wait.

Kate and I

I would like to conclude with the fun that I had today. I was nervous at first to be “alone” in the

psychology course, but figured a majority of students were. Meeting Kate, my “sink mate,” and Frank, my “match,” has been a blast. When Kate went with me to eat lunch, I felt a connection. She is a sweet, nice girl that has a cute personality. Kate is taking a veterinarian course for big animals, wanting to become a vet. I learned a lot from her today, and realized that she truly has a soft spot for dogs. Frank is a very social person, my type of guy. Something that I keep replaying in my head was when he mentioned that we are a good match. I truly believe it because he is caring, funny, and outgoing. I hope that we will build a close relationship, as best friends, I also enjoyed playing volleyball for the first time, and even though I was not good, I improved. Frank and I had a blast touring around campus, seeing the clock tower, and learning about our school life. I really loved this day. I love Cornell. And I can’t wait until the next day.