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Memoir Draft 1
By: sarafredrick Date: March 31, 2014, 7:13 am
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The day I received my acceptance call from Michigan State
University was one of the happiest, most remarkable days of my
life. (MORE INFORMATION) But lets back track for a minute. I
applied to MSU in the fall of 2009 and was terribly sad to find
out that I had been wait listed. Instead of the large white
envelope that all of my friends were getting, I got a small one
knowing all too well that it was not going to be what I was so
desperately wanting to see. I tore it open and my eyes welled up
as I read the first line. The letter told me that unfortunately
there was no room for me to come to MSU in the fall, but I could
come spring semester of 2011.
Sadly, I made other plans to check out Central Michigan
University and even Lansing Community College. As I drove the
two and a half hours to Central, I couldn’t help but think about
how much I still wanted to go to MSU. As soon as my Dad and I
stepped foot onto Central’s campus I still did not feel at home.
It was so small and was in such a small town. My Dad however,
absolutely loved it. A Northern Michigan University alumni
himself, he was thrilled when he found out that Central was the
second safest campus in Michigan, following Northern. He loved
the small atmosphere and the city in general and immediately was
urging me to go there and telling me how much better it would be
for me. Nothing compared to how I felt when I toured MSU,
though, and I couldn’t help but think about everything and
everyone I would be missing out on if I decided to go in the
spring. Eventually I decided that my best bet was to just go to
CMU, even though it was not really what I wanted to do. I went
online and searched diligently for roommates and started to get
excited when I finally found one. Lindsey was the girl I found
online. We added each other on facebook and after a couple weeks
of sharing similarities and differences, decided that we would
definitely want to be roommates. I was finally feeling better
about my choice to go to Central. I sent in my acceptance and
was to be enrolled in the fall.
I still had the biggest gut feeling that Central just wasn’t the
school for me. I kept going over it in my head until finally I
couldn’t take it anymore. I made the ultimate decision to check
out Lansing Community College and just wait a semester for the
school I really wanted to attend. Although my Dad did not agree
with my decision, he had to oblige. So we drove up to LCC and
walked around, learning about all of the classes that would
transfer to MSU. It was not ideal that I would have to spend a
semester at community college but I decided it was worth it if
it meant I got to end up at MSU.
Eventually it was June of 2010 and time for my entire family to
come to my graduation party. I had poster boards filled with
pictures ranging from pre-school until 12th grade. Purple and
white streamers hung from the ceilings along with
‘congratulations’ signs, balloons and centerpieces. A gigantic
Greek salad sat on the food table amongst various types of
barbequed foods. We celebrated my graduation from high school
and talked about my plans for the future. Everyone wanted to
know what I wanted to go into but I was only eighteen years old,
how was I supposed to know? All I knew was that I wanted to end
up at Michigan State. The party wound down and everyone but out
of town family members went home.
The following day, my family was craving buffalo wild wings. So
after ordering over $50.00 worth of mouth-watering wings and
potato wedges, I drove to pick up our order. As I was just
walking through the door of the restaurant I received a phone
call from a number I did not recognize. Answering with a
hesitant ‘hello’, I hear someone say, “Hello, is this Sara?” I
quickly responded with a yes and waited to hear what the person
on the other line had to say. “I’m from Michigan State
University and I just wanted to know that we have accepted you
to come in the fall if you would like” was the response I heard.
My eyes wide, my hands shaking and at a loss for words, I
mouthed yes. Remembering quickly that this person could not hear
me I said yes into the phone, my smile spreading from ear to
ear. This man then said, “well congratulations then you are
coming to MSU in the fall and we can’t wait to have you here
with us!” As I hung up the phone I specifically remember my eyes
watering up and the immense feeling of happiness that was
overtaking my body. Forgetting where I was for a second, I
quickly paid for the food and raced out of the building and
hurried home. As soon as I stepped into my house, I searched for
my family who was sitting out on the porch. I ran out and
screamed that I was going to Michigan State! Everyone looked at
me confused as I explained what had just happened. After I was
finally able to tell everyone about the phone call, I received a
series of hugs. It was finally real. I was going to MSU…not in
the spring, but in the fall with the rest of the class of 2010.
As soon as I received the packet in the mail with all of the
information about attending MSU, I logged onto the computer and
started setting up an account. I clicked on every single link,
looked up all of the different residence halls and was entirely
too excited about starting my college career at the best school
in Michigan. I was eager to find out where I would be living.
All of my friends attending Michigan State already knew because
they had gotten in on time. However, I could not find my answer
anywhere. I discovered that I would find out at my orientation,
so I signed up for the July 7th AOP.
After about a month of thinking of nothing but college, I was
finally headed to Michigan State’s campus for the second time in
my life. That week was one of the hottest weeks Michigan had
dealt with in a long time. My Dad dropped me off and I
grudgingly carried my packed bag, suitcase and pillow from the
Breslin Center to Case Hall. I remember walking into the
building with my forehead dripping sweat from the walk and
smiling. Regardless of the horrible heat wave, I was at the
place I wanted to be. I stood in line to receive my linen, room
assignment for orientation and most importantly the residence
hall I would be residing in for freshman year.
Standing in line for my residence hall assignment made me the
most anxious I had ever been. Seconds ticked by and twenty
minutes of waiting seemed like an hour. Finally I was up at the
front of the line with an envelope in hand. I thanked the girl
working and walked away. Quickly and efficiently I opened the
envelope and searched for the words that would signify my living
arrangements. Hubbard Hall was displayed on the page and my
stomach dropped. I had heard things about Hubbard that made it
very undesirable for living, so I was nervous. Realizing I could
not do anything about it right then, I decided to go find the
room I was staying in during orientation instead. As I walked up
the stairs to the third floor, I found my room, walked in and
realized my roommate was already there. She introduced herself
to me as Lily and after discovering that we were both assigned
to Hubbard hall we stuck together for the rest of the day.
During orientation we were required to walk across campus with a
group to look at our residence hall. We made the long walk from
Case to Hubbard Hall in the dreadful heat. This was the first
time I really got a feel for just how big Michigan State’s
campus was. After a long, hot day of lectures and tours I was
beyond ready to lie in bed with my fan on high. Lily and I
started talking about home, parents, pets and friends. After
realizing how many similarities we had, we decided then that we
would request to be roommates. The next day, we both left campus
prepared to take on Michigan State together. As soon as I got
home, I sent an e-mail to the residence advisors requesting Lily
as my roommate. A few days later my request was accepted and I
texted Lily with the exciting news. We both decided that Hubbard
was not the ideal choice for us so we attempted to request a
dorm change. After being denied more than once, we gave up.
Hubbard was to officially be our home for the school year.
The last half of July and majority of August were spent hanging
out with my high school friends. This was the last time that we
would all be together as a group before going our separate ways
as we left for college. Many nights were spent laughing,
drinking, and crying. How had our time at home already come to
an end? We talked about our futures and what we hoped to
experience in college. I specifically remember sprawling out on
a large blue and white striped blanket in my back yard one warm
summer night. The crickets were loud and the air was hot and
humid. My friends and I doused ourselves with bug spray, hoping
to avoid the horrible mosquito bites we were sure to acquire.
“Do you think that we will still be friends once we all leave?”
was the question that hung solemnly in the air. Silence
followed, but finally everyone agreed that we would make time
for one another and never lose touch. I couldn’t help but feel
how heavy my heart was. As I was letting these words sink in, I
really did question if I would be able to stay in touch with all
of these people I had become such great friends with during high
school.
Move in day had finally arrived. I pulled out of my driveway in
the big white van my Dad borrowed from his office, filled to the
brim with different school supplies. As we drove the hour and a
half to Michigan State, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. I
was nervous and excited at the same time, unsure of what to
expect as we pulled into the Hubbard Hall parking lot. All of
the freshmen were moving in at the same time, so the place was
packed. An 80-degree day, moving into a building with no air
conditioning and having to haul items all the way up to the 8th
floor was no easy fete. After three hours of consistent moving,
all of my items were finally in my room and it was time to say
goodbye to my parents. I surprised myself with how easy it was
to let them go and how exciting it was to officially be on my
own.
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