Going home: A freshman perspective

Oct. 25: My fall break began with waiting for the Tiger PaWW bus in the wrong spot for about 20 minutes. But I do get points for being on the right side of the train tracks on the first try. Granted, I spent a while making sure of this. I didn’t want to end up in some northern wasteland (looking at you, Maine). Arriving in D.C. was strange at first. My toothbrush was missing from the bathroom. My place at the dinner table had changed. But my bedroom was exactly the same as I had left it. It was comforting to know my mom hadn’t turned it into a workout room or renovated it into a disco hotspot. Yet.

Oct. 26: I woke up without an alarm for the first time in ages. It was glorious. A harsh reality settled in when I knew I wouldn’t be welcomed with Forbes Sunday brunch – I felt like crying. The only productive thing I did all day was clean my desk, which hadn’t been organized since prom. I found some materials from my college application process, which seemed like a lifetime ago. My desk was the living relic of a world before New Jersey, tigers and the Wa.

Oct. 27: My hunt for Chipotle began. Along the way, I spent some time with old friends who attend nearby universities. The inevitable awkward “catch up” conversation ensued. One friend even confessed his undying love for me (just kidding, it was a small crush. No one loves me. Ha. Haha.) Despite this, I did not find Chipotle that day. So the rest doesn’t matter.

Oct. 28: It felt like summer again as I sat and watched TV all day. I quickly learned that Comedy Central, BET and MSNBC are my new ways of life. For a while, I seriously considered getting some work done, but then I realized how silly I was being and took a nap instead.

Oct. 29: I got out of the city for a few days to spend time with my father, stepmother and brothers, all of whom live in Maryland. The weather outside was absolutely perfect, but I spent the afternoon watching Clueless. It was beyond worth it. Feeling guilty for not doing any work, I took a crack at my midterm paper but ended up wallowing in the fact that midterms were supposed to be over, yet I still had one. Then I remembered that I also had a p-set to do. Shortly after this realization, I got on YouTube and binge-watched College Humor videos while eating Nutella. This may have been the happiest day.

Oct. 30: I try my hand at my midterm paper again but only made it to page three. Progress is progress, right? I rewarded myself with leftover pizza slices. Even though the weather on Halloween Eve (I understand that this is not a thing, but who cares) was perfect again, I chose to enjoy it indoors and play with my younger brothers. This, too, was worth it.

Oct. 31: While my brothers went to school in their Halloween getup, I went back to the city to spend time with my mother. I didn’t give them a formal goodbye, mostly because I didn’t want them to be sad on a day meant for fun. I thought about that p-set I had to do, but then thought longer about the Halloween party my mother and I were going to later. There was no way I was going to get all Audrey Hepburn-ed again, partly because I was lazy and partly because it was a Princetoween special, which we all know is the real Halloween. Most importantly, I finally got Chipotle. And isn’t that what matters?

Nov. 1: Forget about the Christmas season starting after Thanksgiving, I thought Christmas started NOW. My jolly Christmas carol playlist inspired me to finally finish my paper (a Christmas miracle!) before ordering Chinese food and watching Saturday Night Live with my mom. I tried not to think about how it was my last night in my own bed. It felt strange to realize I didn’t actually live with my parents anymore. I didn’t want to feel all sentimental yet, so I spent some time eating cake instead.

Nov. 2: Before fall break, I thought that my Princeton life and my D.C. life were separate. Princeton was chock-full of individuality and new opportunities while D.C. was the home of a more reserved and dependent self. My train ride back to campus seemed to merge the two together in one bubbly, perfectly awkward mini-adult. This shift is one most freshmen are going through, and I spent every millisecond thanking whatever forces made it possible for me to be growing up at the best damn place of all. I stepped on campus inspired by my new self-discovery. Not inspired enough to get my p-set done, but still pretty inspired. I’ll tackle that tomorrow… Maybe.