FIRST POST - S/O to Kerra Kruse (aka Jeff Rhino) for inspiring me to start my own blog

Wow. Where do I start?

*coughs* I suppose I should introduce myself.

My name is Melissa Curtis. I'm from a small town in Iowa called Manchester.

There are a total of five people (six if you count Marty) in my family.

Mom-Joyce / Dad-Delwyn / Brother-Billy / Sister-Rachel / ME / Cat-Marty

Basics are done....now diving right into my life as right now.

(A warning of sorts. I may use many gifs or images. Some of them will make sense and some may not.)

(I could not resist.)

As I write this post, I am sitting in my dorm room after surviving my freshman year of college at the University of Northern Iowa. My roommate has moved out. While I'm sad to see her go, it kinda has been a relief. First semester roommate is a long and kinda maddening story for another time, so I was hoping for a better experience this semester. And for while, it was...until she got settled in and made other friends besides me. Then I became full-time roommate/part-time (re: occasional) friend. After having some time to think and reflect, I realize it could have been worse. Maybe I was just holding onto the hope that I would be able to find the kind of friends you make people always talk about: "college friends will be your forever friends." True, maybe that wasn't true for Tracy and I, but that doesn't mean we didn't have some good times together because we did. If Tracy is reading this, please know that I'm so glad to have met you and experience what we did. :)

Surviving freshman year

Yes, I survived freshman year. No, I don't have a "How to Survive Your Freshman Year"-for-dummies book written yet.

I find it hard to figure out the words to sum up all the friends I have made, the good (and not so good) experiences I have had, and the memories I will never forget. Looking back at my first day, I remember being the most nervous girl in the room. Now, I see a confident woman. I have learned so much about myself over the course of the year, and I don't regret a single moment of it. Thank you to the many people for helping me-though it is not possible to name them all. I so hope they all know how much I appreciate the support and advice over the course of the year.

Many questions college freshman get are.....

• Do you go partying every weekend?
• Are your classes hard?
• How many times have you changed your major?
• Do you have to, like, study?
• How does college change you?

The list goes on and on. For my answers,

• Nope! I rarely went partying for multiple reasons. 1.) I'm an introvert. 2.) Along with being an introvert, I was also shy. 3.) Combining being an introverted with shyness, I didn't know many parties to go to. 

"Enjoy the college experience, but also remember that you are there to get an education, first and foremost." -Melissa Curtis (aka me)

• YES. YES. YES. I cannot stress that one enough. What also makes class difficulty hard to answer is that everyone's not taking the same classes because people are majoring in different areas.

"All majors seem easy when you are the one on the outside looking in, but if you really have a passion for something, then you would be welcoming the challenge of that particular major." -Me...again

• Zilch. Zero. But I will be changing from being an art major (long story for another blog post) to Interactive Digital Studies. 

"Don't be afraid to change your major. College is the time to explore different areas. If you don't like yours, explore your options. The best way to do that? Talk to a professor or academic advisor and they will be able to guide you (and they love doing it, too!)." -Me...do I really need to keep doing these?

• Again, YES! When you graduate high school and go to college, you think, "I know how to study." WRONG. Well, most of the time you are. A professor of mine once told me "Ask what you will be tested on: based on lecture material or based on the textbook readings." Sinceriously, guys, do this and you'll at least know what to study. 

"Pro tip: actually do the readings from the textbooks (those things? yes, those things)." -Me....I don't know why I keep doing this.

•  That's a tough one to answer. My experiences are different from what yours will be. Going into college, I thought I knew exactly who I was: a book smart yet street smart girl majoring in art just like my sister. About halfway through the fall semester it hit. I don't know who I really was or am. That freaked me out. I about had a panic attack in class. But, after some time (re: still working on it), I have realized that it is okay. It's kind of the reason of college: to find yourself or become someone else (to start over, if you will).

"Sometimes not having everything figured out is a good thing. It may suck and be frustrating as hell, but let things happen as they are supposed to." -Me...Seriously, guys, I swear this is the last one.

This blog would have been good for me when I went through some rough times this past year. To be honest, it would great if my blog became famous; but that is not my intention- I just want a place to vent to...like my own digital journal.

- Thought of the day -