First Post! (Second Week)

Well here I am, sitting at my desk looking back over what is nearly the end of my second week of classes here at the University of Portland, and my third week here on campus. It's been quite a change from my high school life of a few months ago. Of course, the nearest Catholic High School being 45 minutes away from my house, the dramatic reduction in commute time is quite an obvious shift, but that is somewhat superficial. Others may disagree, especially if they are not among that minority of teenagers who have yet to receive a drivers license and required the cooperation of others (read "Parents") for any activity. If I had to sum up in one word the most significant difference between high school, it would be "flexibility". You can do nearly anything you want, at any time you want. This can be a good thing - you can spontaneously decide to watch a movie or go for a midnight snack at 1 am on Saturday night. You can write a paper in an hour break between classes. But this can also be a bad thing. You can spontaneously decide to watch a movie on a Wednesday night. You can surf the web or play video games in an hour break between classes. At the risk of repeating what we were told over and over throughout orientation and first year workshop, you are in charge of your own time. Overall I see this as a positive. I have never found it easier to meet with partners for a group project, such as the Freshman Design Competition. What a perfect segue into another topic. And what a topic - I could write a whole separate post just on my experiences with the design competition to this date. Which, incidentally is what I shall do. I cannot think of a better way to build suspense and encourage you to come back. Stay tuned...