maenthoven

Well, it finnally came. After three weeks of hell because every single friend I know and have (other than my loving Ali) was gone in mid August, leaving me painfully waiting for Northwestern's start-up this previous Tuesday. So, after tons of rush-packing (and, of course, inevitable "crud, I forgot such-and-such") and many tearful goodbyes (I love you, Ali!), I departed Monday for Chicago. The greatest part was that whenever I travel with mom, I get to be part of Mom's lifestyle. 

This was my living quarters on Monday night (The Four Seasons!)



A 40$ cab drive and many stairs later (my room is on the 4th floor, and there is no elevator), I arrived at this!:



It's not as messy as you would think. Actually right now, it doesn't really look like a college dorm room. It's actually NEAT! The beds actually got made this morning! It was amazing! And I could SLEEP! (but I'm sure everyone going up 4 flights of stairs to move ALL their luggage had nothing to do with how tired we all were)! Regardless, moving in went very well. The weather continues to be absolutley beautiful. 80s, with a great breeze from the lake, and sun-shine just when I want it. I'm very excited. Northwestern, at my first glance, is amazing.

Meet Joel, my roomate:


He looks evil, but he's really not. I can't be overly critical of him now, as I've only known him for about 36 hours. I never really thought of my "ideal" roommate, but I'll say this: Joel certainly isn't what I WOULDN'T want in a roommate, if that makes sense. I had a list of the "types" of people I probably wouldn't want to room with, Joel wasn't on the list. So that's gotta be good for something.

Anyways, classes start Tuesday. I got into the two honors classes that I was eligible for (Engineering Analysis and Calculus), but I won't be taking the honors section of Calculus. Instead, I'm planning on starting out with one big challenge: 5 classes to start out. My classes will probably look like this, but it's not absolutely for certain until Friday/Saturday:

 - Honors Engineering Analysis (Freshman Engineer Class)
 - Calculus for Engineers 240
 - Chemestry 101
 - Introduction to Macroeconomics 201
 - Computer Programming and Programming Science (Intro)


And, for those who were close to me (family and a few friends) and are going "What? Matthew... how are you going to fit in all those classes?" My answer is this:


I cancelled my World of Warcraft account officially and won't be going back. With all of my AP Credits, and my honors classes, and my ambitous and overwhelming schedule, I'm probably in the top 10% of my class. I plan on being #1, which means giving up almost anything that is absolutley pointless, such as waste-of-time computer games. So yes, that's gone, rejoice if you want to, cry if you were a fellow addict (but to all the criers: it is an addiction, and doesn't really count for anything but the negative fifteen dollars in your wallet).







So, classes begin Tuesday, and I have a boring days ahead of me Thursday and Friday, with only one thing on the schedule each day. But oh-well, it's orientation. It certainly sucks being told, repeatedly, "don't rape girls" - "No means no" - "You're not 21, don't drink" (always in a sarcastic tone btw, because they know almost everyone will) - "Don't pull the fire alarm if there's not a fire" - "The Emergency exits are for emergencies only" - "Don't lock yourself inside your room" - "Don't be stupid." - All of these ridiculous... I got into Northwestern, after all... It's like the college doesn't trust it's own admissions to only allow semi-smart people.

And I guess I'll wrap it up with this: Admissions. Probably the most amazing thing about the environment so far is that everyone wants to be here. It's not some choore like high-school where you're required by law (of course, I'm still under my parents and grandparents law... hehe) - Everyone is at college because they choose to pursue and value a higher education. It's great that everyone's smart, and have very similar interests to mine. But the biggest difference that I've noticed is people are here because they want to be, not because they have to be.

Anyways, I have one more meeting to go to in about fifteen minutes, so I guess I'll wrap this up.




Till next time! Cya!