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Monday, September 19, 2011

For those of you wondering what I've been up to...

So it has been over four months since I chose to make the decision to leave California for Kansas, and I must say, what a great decision it has been! While California seems to be declining, Kansas is thriving. It is great here: the people are kind and helpful, the faculty treat you like family, and I feel like an actual person and not just a tuition check. That's not to say that California doesn't have those things, but it seems to be a guideline for how people behave here. These are down to earth people, who don't feel entitled or self-important. When people ask me what is the main difference between California and Kansas, I always tell them the same thing: back in California, it feels like people are always rushing to do nothing, they make no time to relax or make time for you because they are always too busy with themselves and things they do. Not a bashing of citizens of California, just a personal observation.

So what've I been up to in the past four months? Let me give you a quick rundown.

I flew over here on May 15th, but my dorm was not available until the next day, so my father and I stayed in a hotel. All I brought with me were a suitcase and two duffle bags, and of course my computer. It was odd that I had to pack up my entire life into 3 bags.







The next day I checked into Moore Hall, where I had my own room, which was pretty nice. The best part of the place though was the store on the first floor. If you were hungry or thirsty all you had to do was hop on the elevator, go down to the lobby, and buy some food. Thank goodness I left that dorm because it could easily make you gain weight if you aren't careful. It doesn't help that the cafeteria could by accessed by taking the elevator down to the basement and walking down a tunnel to the dining center.


I then moved to Goodnow Hall at the end of June, and stayed there until the end of the summer semester, when I found a small studio apartment a few blocks from campus that I now currently live in. I also had a roommate for a couple weeks, which was unexpected, but a good experience.


This thing has saved my metabolism. Without it, I would probably be fifty pounds heavier. With the dining center's unlimited amounts of food and the close proximity to the dorm rooms, weight gain is plausible. One of the nice things about my bike, which I call "The Juggernaut" (because the colors resemble the suit from the X-Men villain so aptly named), is it allowed me to explore the campus very easily, and I found a few nice things on campus.



One nice thing about Kansas State are the veteran memorials. For those of you who don't know, Manhattan, Kansas is near Fort Riley, which is the largest military compound in the midwest. Home to the Big Red One, it is needless to say Kansas State is extremely supportive of their men & women of the armed forces. There are memorials for every foreign war, which include these two. I attended the unveiling of the World War 2 memorial, which was amazing. I met Gov. Sam Brownback, and he personally welcomed me to the state of Kansas and Kansas State. It was a great experience.



Another cool thing about K-State's campus is the abundance of animals, particularly squirrels and rabbits.






Of course, no summer would be complete here without lightning storms. Quite the spectacle to behold. You have no idea how difficult it is to take a picture of lightning with a phone camera!


Now that fall semester has begun, I have been busy with classes, homework and clubs. I took classes during the summer, but all I had to focus on were the classes themselves, but now I have other things on the horizon to think about. I enjoy my classes, all of them in fact, which is interesting because I usually have one boring class that I can't stand. I also recently got accepted to the CAT program here at K-State. CAT stands for College of Agriculture Training Program, and is a semester long weekly class to train upcoming agriculture ambassadors.

I plan to keep you updated on future events. So in case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening and good night.