Scribbles (A Niall Horan fan fiction)

35) August 18: Tooting Fairy Princess

18 August, 2012

            Do you know how fast time flies when you’re busy preparing for college on a completely different continent than the one your school is located on?  Like, do you even know how much there is to do?  Because I had no idea.  And it is a lot.

            Like, first of all, there’s the whole financial situation.  And while I had enough money, it was actually getting that money to California that was tricky.

            Then there’s the issue of rooming situations and finding a roommate.  They make you fill out this survey so that they can put you in with a compatible roommate.  But the questions are so vague that it’s impossible to fill out. Like, one question is, “Would you rather sit and read at night, or would you rather go out and party?”  My answer to that question, if answering honestly, would be, “Both.  I like to sit and do nothing on some nights and then rage my face off other nights.”  But that’s not an option.  I just circled the sit and read option because whoever they room me with will at least be quiet.  Hopefully.

            Then there’s the orientation hurdle.  I had to go to a two day orientation to get familiar with the school and procedures.  That was the first week of August. 

            I arrived two days before my orientation date.  I napped the first day because jetlag sucks.  The second day, I navigated the large San Diego campus on my lonesome at seven in the morning.  I had to ask two upperclassmen for directions and I felt ridiculous.  But I finally found the student center.  I waited in this illegally long line of other incoming Freshman.  I finally reached the front of the line and was handed a packet and a name tag.

            I bustled into the largest room I had ever seen and took a seat somewhere in the middle of the room.  Ten minutes after eight, a whole bunch of people in bright red shirts with way too much enthusiasm for so early in the morning ran onto the stage.  They jumped around and tried to get the rest of us psyched.  Well, it worked for most of the incoming freshman.  Most of them were cheering and yelling.  I just sat there and wished for the umpteenth time that I had woken up just a little earlier to get some coffee. 

            These orientation leaders introduced themselves with a whole lot of spunk and then played a video for us.  The video was a parody of Steve Irwin, where the orientation leaders were dressed in camouflage and they were at various places on campus.  One student was hiding behind a potted plant in the dining hall.  The camera man was standing about two inches away from the student from the looks of it.  The student would comment—in a poor Australian accent—on the looks of the food and the behavior of the other students.  The best part was the fact that they were meant to be “unseen” but every single student that passed looked at them with a confused look on their face before walking on. 

            Anyway, the video was a fun way to introduce us to the highlights on campus and giving a brief description of the locations.

            After the video, the president of the school came out and gave a speech about bettering ourselves and bettering our lives with the pursuit of a higher education.  Then a nurse gave a speech on behalf of the school health center.  She told us everything they offered and all of the boys cheered obnoxiously when she mentioned the fact that they could get ten condoms for a dollar.  Boys are so dumb.  Then a financial director came out and told us our options as far as finances go.  Let’s just put it this way, there were a lot of guest speakers. 

            After the last guest speaker, the head orientation leader came onto stage and announced our next activity.  We were going to be separated into our majors and then carry on from there.  So this guy would read off, “Architecture!  Jameson!” and then a hoard of people throughout the room would stand up and locate Jameson.