Hi everyone! Wow. A LOT has happened since the last time I posted. I'm writing to you at 9 AM in the morning on a Monday, sipping my first ever coffee I've made in college. I made it!!!
So, there are a few questions that people have been asking me constantly, and I'm going to start this post with them so that there is no more suspense.
#1: Is your room set up yet?
Yes, my room is set up! I will be showing you all of the pictures soon, so just hang tight ^-^
#2: How are you feeling? Are you sad/lonely/afraid/...?
Shockingly enough, I'm actually doing just fine everyone! I haven't really had time to be sad/lonely/afraid/... because I've already been so busy! I'll explain momentarily, but the short answer is for now, I am all good ♡
#3: Have you met your roommate?
Yes, Ella and I have met! She moved in yesterday, so last night was my first time sharing a room with someone. And yes, I think we will be just fine together this year.
#4: Is your campus huge? Is there stuff to do on it?
I think it feels bigger than it actually is to me right now because I'm still so new to it. So for now I'll say yes, but once I get my bearings, that may change. As for things to do, I'll say definitely. There's already been so many dates for events thrown at me that I can't even remember them all. Of course, I'll try to attend as much as possible, and keep you all updated as well!
#5: Have you started classes yet?
Nope! Classes don't begin until this Thursday!
#6: How do I see your pictures?
This one is for my family: if you want to see the things that I have posted so far, download Instagram and follow me @cierra_loves_yah. I have a story that I have been posting on every single day, but things disappear after 24 hours!
Alright, enough for the QnA. Let's talk about how my week has been!
So, here's what was supposed to happen.
In my last post, I told you all that my move-in day was September 12th. My dad (who I love and appreciate with all of my heart,) took on the grueling task of driving my mom and I from my hometown in California, allll the way here to Corvallis, Oregon. That trip was around 13 hours with a total of 888.9 miles. My dad, who is practically a nomad anyway, insisted that it wasn't going to be as horrible as my mom and I were thinking it would be. So the plan was set. He'd leave his home in Greeley, Colorado the previous Saturday (September 8th) to make it to California on Monday (September 10th), to be able to get me up here to Corvallis on Wednesday (September 12th, aka, my move-in day).
Me, being the paranoid person that I am, was already skeptical of this timeline. Of course my main objective was to make it on time and not be late, but I was also concerned for my dad's sake. His treck to California from Colorado was already a whopping 15-and-a-half hour ride, and that was if he drove nonstop, which is implausible.
But hey, who am I to judge the man who basically drives for a living? So fine, whatever, he'll make it. It'll be okay.
So, here's what actually happened.
My dad didn't make it to my home in California until around 2 AM on Sunday, September 11th. I spent all of Saturday (September 10th, aka, the anticipated departure date) pacing around wondering and waiting. (I even slept with my clothes on just in case he was ready to go once he got in.) Long story short, we didn't actually leave my house until around 11:30 AM with a 13 hour trip in front of us. Not entirely the worst case scenario, but definitely not ideal.
Here's a picture of the camper van!
I didn't really take many pictures of the inside nor of the trip up here because it was one of those experiences where pictures don't really do justice to capture how you felt when the event was happening. Whenever I get that feeling, I usually just put the camera down and try to experience it through my own two lenses, because sometimes the mind's camera is better than any other expensive one. It was also a time to just kind of reflect on how I got to this point...so without getting any sappier, let's just jump to actually arriving on campus and talking about my EOP program.
First thing's first: what is EOP?
EOP stands for "Educational Opportunities Program". From the website, the program exists to: "provide a welcoming environment that supports the full development of the personal and academic potential of students who have traditionally been denied equal access to higher education."
Essentially, it is a social, academic, and financial, aid to students of color, disabled students, 1st generation students, undocumented students, etc.
I received e-mails about the program after I was accepted to OSU and I was urged to apply. Fantastically enough, I was one of 60 students accepted. Part of applying to EOP was agreeing to move-in early (September 12th vs September 16th) to take part in the 5-day "bridge" program, which is what I have been up to since I arrived on campus.
Here's an overview of what our schedule has been each day:
So...when I've said I've been busy, I wasn't kidding. This program has had us out from 7-8 o'clock in the morning to 7-8 o'clock at night. And because these past 5 days have been such a whirlwind,
I didn't coherently document anything really. Here's a slideshow of some pictures that I did get to take, in the best order I can manage:
Unfortunately, there is a lot more that I wish I could show you all, but the only way to add videos to Wix is to upload them to YouTube, which I am not doing. (It would just take way too long, sorry!) But, if you want to see them as they get posted, again, follow me on IG!
In all, I enjoyed the EOP program. It was very interactive, and needless to say, definitely kept me busy. And although towards the end I complained a lot about the constant stream of activities, it did help me not dwell on the inevitable sadness of being away from home. The mandated quick goodbye the first day helped me not cry as much about my parents leaving, and overall, I am thankful for the experience.
Here's a picture of myself and my cohort!
Thanks to everyone who made it an awesome week ♡
Alright, alright, here's the part you all really want to see.
Out of respect for Ella's privacy, I'm only showing my side of the dorm.
First things first: bed space!
So when you walk through the door of our dorm room, the first thing to your left and right are our beds. My bed space is similar to the set up I had at home, but a lot more condensed. I mean for one, anyone who knows me knows that I have a ridiculous amount of stuffed animals. Here, I only brought favorites or meaningful ones.
I also cut down on the amount of clutter I had on my old cork board, and only hung pictures that still bring happy memories or are still relevant in some way. As for my box signs, they won't stay in that T formation. I just ran out of command strips lol.
And, of course, I brought my giant You Are My Sunshine box sign because it's from my godmom and it means a lot to me ♡
Next things next: wardrobe!
Immediately after the beds are the two identical wardrobes. I was worried when I first saw how the wardrobe lay out looked that I wasn't going to have room for everything. But thankfully, even though it's a little bit of a tight squeeze, everything fit! Fun fact: I bought that vertical hanging shelving to the right at Walmart for $6, and as I was in line I kept asking myself "but do I really need this?" and as you can see, yes, I very much so did need that. Thanks past self.
You can also see that I have lights I haven't hung yet because once again I ran out of command hooks... *facepalm*
Last things last: bookshelf/desk space!
Okay, so there's a lot going on in this last area, so I made the pictures a slideshow instead of a gallery. Click the arrows to scroll!
This last part of the room consists of a space that I've made into my bookshelf/tupperware storage area, as well as the regular desk.
To begin, I didn't even anticipate having that tiny slither of space to put the 3 containers I brought with me in, which was a pleasant surprise! Now I put my dish soap there as well.
The bookshelf space also serves as a dish compartment on the top (with the two pink plates, meal straws, silverware, etc), as well as an emergency breakfast stash on the bottom (because again, anyone who knows me knows I love oatmeal with peanut butter #guiltypleasure).
As for the books I did bring (which is a fraction of the actual collection!) were ones that I've either 1: loved so much I've reread or 2: could see myself rereading eventually because they made me happy. Ella and I actually had the same idea with this one: she brought books that make her happy too!
Moving onto the actual desk space, I am very pleased with how I've got it set up. Right above my bookshelf space is the polaroid display thingy, as well as the picture frame that has my best friend and I, my cousins and I with my grandma before she passed, and my first ever credible photoshop project that I'm still really excited about. These things are directly to the left of me as I sit at my desk.
Next on the top part of my desk are my two mini-3-drawer stationary storages. They mainly hold washi tapes sticky notes, and some extra electronic pieces like SD cards. Then there's obviously my Mac desktop, my calendar, some pins I received during my EOP program, and my desk lamp!
On the bottom part of my desk there is my jewelry box, two mason jars with an abundance of colored pens and pencils, my two framed pictures of my godmom and I (of which the graduation one was a send-off present ♡), and among other clutter, my #currentlyreading: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.
A complete tour of my side of the dorm room! Although there are still a lot that I could show you guys, it's taken me two days to write this post and I have things to prepare for! So, if you keep an eye on my blog, there is more to come soon ♡ Thank you all so much for reading and I'll be back soon!
Cierra ✨