I’ve successfully completed a month of college! I arrived in Texas on August 14th and have been at Baylor since the 17th. It’s been a big transition from Hawai‘i customs, music, and culture to that of the Lone Star state, but I’m doing okay.
I am taking five classes that I really enjoy (for the most part) and the work load isn’t too hard to manage. I have some excellent professors who have genuinely taken an interest in me and my work. My least favorite class of the moment is French, which is so difficult! I should have taken Japanese. Oh well, we’ll just see how the rest of the semester goes. The campus is so beautiful but I haven’t had time to explore the different buildings and spots that could be great for studying. I got lost on the first day of classes, but I’ve quickly found my way around and have differentiated between the similar looking brick buildings. So far, I’ve enjoyed studying and doing work in my room in the evenings but an outside study spot could be helpful! My roommate and I have also become good friends and hang out throughout the week, which is so wonderful. I’m thankful that I live with someone who has similar interests and gets along well with me and yet has her own set of friends and hobbies.
Band has been a fantastic way to meet new people and I don’t know what I would have done without it. Although I was dreading joining college band, I’m so grateful that my dad pushed me to join for the year. The first day of pre-season was horrible and I wanted to quit but I’m glad I stuck it out! I’ve made some amazing friends through it and get free tickets to the football games, so I can’t really complain! Of course, my favorite part of the games is when we welcome in the football players and I get to see Shawn Oakman and Andrew Billings (and every other player that I love aka the whole team).
Although I’m genuinely enjoying my time here, I’m starting to get to the point where the homesickness is hitting me. I know that’s normal especially since I’m in a completely different environment but sometimes it’s a little rough. I miss being in my own home with my family and friends, eating local foods, playing with my pets, going to the beach, going hiking, and even being at Kamehameha. I’m lucky to have so many people and things to miss and look forward to seeing in December. I’m also really blessed that my best friends and I Skype almost every night and don’t intend to drift apart. Staying in touch with family and friends is really important during college and I’m so thankful that I have people in my life that care about me.
I hope you all enjoyed reading this mess of an update on how I’m doing and how I’m coping with my transition into university. I truly am having a great time and am so blessed to be at the school I’m at. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the semester plays out and to go home during Christmas time!
