back to school

This past week was my first week back to college. Yeah I know I graduated last May but I still needed to take my last 2 prereqs for my future career which IwillnotspeakofuntilIgetintotheirprogram. One of the classes I’m taking is “Anatomy and Physiology 2 + Lab” and it’s kinda annoying because technically I’ve taken it already! My alma mater offered "Anatomy and Physiology + Lab". No part 1 or 2. Just AP by itself which actually was a combination of 1 AND 2 and boy was that class real tough and intensive (but I loved it, my favorite college course EVER!!) but a lot of schools that I wanna apply to (for my future career) WON’T ACCEPT "AP". Soooooo I was left with no choice but to retake it. God Willing this class will be a “breeze” since I’ve already learned this stuff.

So let me tell you about this university, in which I am enrolled as a non-degree student … aka … GUEST STUDENT. First off, I had to pay A LOT of money for these 2 classes. I'm not a resident of this state yet so I had to pay non-resident fees, which was 2x more than resident fees. And because I'm a non-degree student, I didn't qualify for financial aid or loans. Which was fine but I'm just sayen. And I wasn’t too lost on the first day because I visited the campus many times (to fill out my application, get my ID, drop off my immunization slips, etc etc). When it came time for my break in-between classes, I didn’t know where to go! I wanted to eat my homemade lunch cuz I was STARVING but really didn’t wanna sit alone in the cafeteria…so I found a spot in the atrium (an area that connects the buildings together) and ate -- and people watched. And that was a slightly depressing scene but whatevs.

After that, I decided to get some information about the college MSA (muslim students association) so I could find out about meetings/prayer area/etc etc. I found the "club room" or student organization office with the help of students who were carrying signs which read "NEED ASSISTANCE? ASK FOR HELP!" The lady in charge of "club" information was out of the office so I was just sitting around waiting for her to return. While waiting, I walked around the office and my eyes fell on this sticker that said something like, "Forget your arrogance, be humble and remember the grave" and I was all thinking like, "Oh whoa, isn't that a little...religious??" so I looked up to see which door it was posted on (assuming it was going to be some religious org) and to my surprise, it was the mediation room! I got so excited!!! Alhamdulillah they have one so now I can pray in between classes inshallah. :)

Overall, there’s a lot of different things I’m experiencing with going back to college again. During undergrad, I drove and it took me about 15 mins cuz I lived sooo close to school. Now I take public transportation and it takes me 1 hour 15-20 minutes to get there. LONGEST RIDE EVER! But it’s cool because I’m catching up on reading “THE TIME TRAVELLERS WIFE”. And it’s also not THAT bad considering I have classes only twice a week. The traveling has left me feeling exhausted though. I’m sure within a few weeks, I’ll start feeling better and hey, it’s doing wondersss to my calves!! ;)

Oh and I feel like I’m in high school again! The college policy is that you can’t be late for class more than twice or absent more than 3 times and if you are absent - there’s a chance you’ll fail the class. And professors take attendance! The college isn’t even that small but obviously not where you have 200 people for a science class (like my alma mater). So yeah, that’s REALLY weird for me because I never had to deal with that in undergrad (well maybe in a few classes). Also my exams are pretty tentative. I HATE that. I hate not knowing when I’m going to have exams. I like being mentally prepared and the professors leaving the dates “up in the air” has got me feeling really really really nervous. And also they check your ID at the entrance (something my old HS did). And the weirdest procedure is when you’re borrowing books from the undergrad library. You can’t just say the name of the book, you NEED to know the call number (whyohwhy!!) and the librarians keep your ID until you’ve returned the book. Talk about strictttttt. Anddddd there’s no eating in the library! OMG we used to PIG OUT at our undergrad lib and it was allowed, just not near the computer stations but here, nope. NO MERCY.

On the other hand, what’s pretty cool is that I don’t have to step outside of the building(s) for ANYTHING! Which is SOOO convenient because I remember during undergrad, the bookstores and libraries and classes would be so far away from each other (since our campus was pretty big) and it would be a drag to walk around, especially in the winter. But at the university I attend now…the library, bookstore, cafeteria (yeah lol) and my classes are in 3 buildings which are connected to each other! It totally feeds my laziness buttt iiiiiiii love it. And 2 of my 3 professors are pretty cool alhamdulillah. The other one is alright, he’s just giving me slight problems regarding a certain situation but insha’Allah it will be resolved soon.

I know semester just started but I’ve been looking forward to spring break even before it did lol. It’s at the end of march. CAN’T WAIT. Spring break means a visit to the MIDWEST! :)

Oh and there's 14 weeks of the semester left (yes I love countdowns).
Anddddd I probably should go study now before the superbowl starts cuz I'm having some guests over for my first superbowl party. No I'm not watching the game. Just made a party out of it since The Husband loves it. Wish you all were here.

But till next time, PEACE!