Katherine

I move into a dorm on Friday with two roommates I know nothing about. I mean, from their Facebook pages, I know that they have blonde hair and share a love of Lil Wayne. I know where they’re from and that one of them possibly has a color scheme for her section of the dorm. Essentially I have no idea what these people will be like. And that scares me.

I’ve spent the week preparing for Friday. I went shopping, played my flute for the first time all summer, and took an online course called AlcoholEdu. One question it asked went something like, “When you choose to drink, IF you choose to drink, why do you do it?” And the answers were something like: “(A) To ‘fit in.’ (B) To feel ‘more attractive.’ (C) To feel more ‘connected’ with others. (D) SEXXXXXX.” These aren’t the exact answers, but that is basically what it was saying.

Stupid online courses aside, I’m really nervous about this next week. I have many questions. Am I a desirable friend? Will other people look at me and know that I don’t know nearly as much about current events and politics as I should? Or that I never memorized the entire times table? Do college kids use backpacks, or is that soooo high school? Should I bring my CD player?

I’m going to hate leaving my room. Where else can you spend long stretches of time hanging out in your underwear and listening to music? I guess I could become a stripper and do just that, but I could never walk in those heels without sustaining a major injury.

So I’m nervous. And upset about leaving my brother. He’s terrible at snuggling and likes to put his feet on people, but he’s also a COOKIE ON WHEELS. He’s one of my favorite people ever. When he left for college two years ago, I dramatically wept in the window seat of my room and kept on thinking, Nothing’s ever going to be the same again. Moving on is good, but it’s scary. ♦