Now that August is almost over and schools are starting to re-open, I wanted to share my experience when I first arrived at the CIA. I moved to campus at the end of May in 2017. It was a rainy and chilly day for that time of year. My parents still had my childhood home in NJ. I had moved all my things from Boston just a few weeks earlier and then re-packed what I needed for school. It was definitely an odd feeling of going back to school at the age of 31. There was a nervous feeling. Anxiety and uncertainty always fill my head and body when it comes to the first day of school. I always wondered how people changed over the summer. What were my classes going to be like? Will I make new friends? This time around, I was going to be older and wiser than most of the students, but that same feeling kept coming back.
On move-in day, I drove to campus with my mom in her oversized Nissan mini-van. Despite the rain, the weather couldn’t damper my enthusiasm and energy. The first unique thing about moving on campus is that the CIA has a welcome team organized by ResLife, which helps you move your belongings to your room. It was so relaxing to not have to move a bunch of things from your car to room in an unfamiliar setting. The move was fast. I was amazed since my moves at BU weren’t as easy dealing with parking and a bunch of back and forth trips to the car. Once I got settled in, I said goodbye to my mom and started to set up my room. The less glamourous thing about my move was that I was back in dorm living. A double with a shared bathroom. A twin XL mattress with a water-resistant cover. The last time I was in this situation was freshman year at BU all the way back in 2004. The lights were harsh and the floors were cold. The dorm had a kitchen, lounge, and laundry room on the first floor. The first time Weny and I laid our eyes on each other was in that laundry room when I asked her if she was using an empty dryer (she wasn’t). I guess you could consider me lucky since I never had to have a communal bathroom with the whole hall. I consider myself lucky since living in that dorm helped me meet Weny.
A few hours went by and I wandered around campus to get some errands done. When I got back to my room, I saw that my roommate had left his suitcases there. I knew that he was an international student from Korea, so he had packed light compared to me. When he got back to the room, he was flanked by other Koreans who would be in our class. We ended up getting along fine despite the fact that he had AM classes and I had PM classes. There were some early morning alarm wake-ups, but I survived. Eventually, I became an RA and was able to move into a single later in the fall. I was able to bond with a lot of the Korean students and even went on a weekend trip to the Catskills over the summer. It was a pretty surreal experience being transported to cramping 20 people in a 3-bedroom rental. I was given the title of “hyung” or older brother, and it came with some nice benefits in exchange for advice or help in school. I miss a lot of them since we all went our separate ways, but I’m hopeful that I’ll see them again.
Cheesing so hard during orientation
The first few days are largely spent on orientation and got boring at times, but it helps you get to know some of your classmates and how the school works. Everyone is pretty quiet and trying to get their bearings down. I tried to be more outgoing than I was at BU and it definitely helps to get out of my comfort zone. I think it’s really important to put in the effort early on to meet people before everyone inevitably settles into their little groups. This is also an ideal time to plan out how you want to spend your spare time. Reslife does a very good job of organizing activities and there are always events where you can grab a snack. It is a culinary school. Because you’re in a somewhat isolated campus, it’s important to fill your time so you don’t drive yourself crazy. This could be finding a job, joining clubs, or working on your side hustle and hobbies. I got a job on campus at one of the restaurants, joined student government, and became an RA. My days were packed, but I don’t regret any of it.
Kommentare