No Such Thing

I'm sure y'all are all dying to find out how my first few weeks of school have been. In case there were any doubts - I love it! My schedule's a bit swapped so now I'm in Modern Dance, World Dance, Newswriting, Book of Mormon, Missionary Prep, Western Humanities, Technical Communication, and Career Exploration. I don't know how else to describe it - I feel like I'm actually getting an education here, as opposed to the usual college PowerPoint snippets. I feel so enlightened and enriched after class gets out, and I feel like I'm learning. I understand what President Gordon B. Hinckley used to say about education. We're reading the Iliad and the Odyssey in Humanities, and since we studied the background and values of Ancient Greece and how they have influenced our own culture, I have so much more appreciation for the works (as opposed to my inital "this is going to be poopy") and I honestly cannot put them down! And in Technical Communication we're learning to write instructions, so our professor showed us a clip from Brian Reagan's poptart skit (click here for enjoyment). Ok, maybe that part of my BYU experience doesn't sound scholarly, but I was impressed with the creative spin and enjoyed three minutes of humor.
I think one of my favorite classes though is Modern Dance. It's definitely the one I take the most risks in, because we do movements with our bodies that would make the average person feel quite dumb. But I love it. I just feel in that class. I'm not very good at expressing how I feel in words, but somehow it all comes out when I dance. Even if I'm not trying to say anything while dancing, afterwards I just feel understood. Sometimes I feel like I communicated things that I didn't even know I was feeling. And sometimes, dancing communicates to me. My apologies if this doesn't make sense (repeat the "I'm not very good at expressing how I feel in words" line above). But oh the joys of dancing!
Ohmygoodness and speaking of Modern, I have a delightful tale to tell:
So the first day we all form a circle, and I spy this tragically good looking guy come walking towards me (think the emotions of My So-Called Life's Jordan Catalano(click!) and the looks of Ryan Phillipe click! - no joke). Haha, only he's got the theater thing like Tom, so not quite my type. "I like your band-aid," he says as he gestures toward my Barbie bandage. "Thanks," I smile. Is he flirting with me? Is this how boys flirt at BYU? We then move to a different spot in the room, still aiming to form a circle. We still end up beside each other. "Quit following me," he says jokingly. "Um, I think you're following me," I try to say nonchalantly, but since I have no skills with boys the timing was a bit off and I'm sure I just sounded dumb. I really need to work on this.
Not to brag - ok actually I think I will because I'm not used to this - but as of Tuesday I already had both weekend nights booked - sushi on Friday and a BYU dance concert on Saturday - and I have a lovely guy friend still vying for the right to Friday. Life is so good!
But I'm making lots of new friends too in my classes, ward, and the like. People are so friendly here and I actually have to pick and choose - like a Cold Stone ice cream experience - what I want to mix in to my social calender. Stuff going on every night of the week and none of it includes the words "swap" or "keg"? I love this place. Last week I see this girl in my book of Mormon class wearing a Polo shirt and a pair of jockey boots and carrying a monogrammed LL Bean tote. K, so she's so not from here, I think to myself. Turns out she's from Virginia, she's a junior as well who just transferred from Smith College in Massachusetts, and she's been looking for a friend! This girl is absolutely adorable - just popped out of a Brooks Brothers ad - and I love her to death. On her way to dinner one night I peeked in her closet: "Oh cute shoes, Brooke. [notice brand name] Haha, I've never bought anything Burberry before!" "Oh, well I got them on sale." I love her.
Ok, it's not all sprinkles.
One of my roommates is so eating my food. Yesterday I grab my box of Frosted Shredded Mini Wheats to find one and a half biscuits left, just chilling in the bottom of the package like they actually matter. What am I supposed to do with one and a half of these? And this is only one account - there are many more, some involving use of things other than food. I confess I have eaten my roommates' provisions before. I am not innocent. But now, after being on the receiving end, I am fully penitent and have changed my ways. I offer public apology to Hila, for pilfering all those yummy Ritz crackers last year. Interestingly enough, Odysseus's son Telemachus has shared my grief:
"You suitors who plague my mother... You must leave my palace! See to your feasting elsewhere, devour your own possessions... But if you decide the fare is better, richer here, destroying one man's goods and going scot-free (aka MOOCHING!) all right then, carve away! But I'll cry ou to the everlasting gods in hopes that Zeus will pay you back with a vengeance!"
I know, Telemachus. Life is so hard.
Ok, I'm really not that mad - now I'm not, at least - maybe because it's easy to be humorous with the situation. For instance, I considered leaving a note threatening death. Then I realized that my sense of humor isn't shared by many. Or none.