I remember taking my first trip up to Dartmouth on the Dartmouth Coach early in September.
Wide-eyed and tired from a long journey, I sat in the Coach, silently, listening to Coldplay the entire way. I spent the journey looking out the window-- eating up the northeastern country side, so unfamiliar to me. The farther away we got from the bigger cities, the quieter, more relaxing it became. Nevertheless, I was nervous. I was nervous to start my new life at a new school in a new part of the country. I was 2000 miles away from my home, how could I not be scared?
After the two and a half hour trip from Boston to Hanover, the bus stopped in front of the Hanover Inn, and slowly and steadily, everyone began to disembark from the bus. You could tell who the freshmen were. We were all awkward, looking around for fellow freshmen to talk to, to share our common experience with. It was only a matter of time before Chris, the most boisterous of our small group, introduced himself.
"Are you a '13?" Laughing, I said yes. An instant friendship was formed.
Pretty soon there was a group of about twelve of us-- mostly from California, we were a diverse group of people. We decided to form a small group, and get our cards, our room keys, and lunch together.
Everyone, starving, decided that we should get lunch first. A huge schmob (that's a group of freshmen, for those who are uneducated on such matters), we walked through downtown to the local pizza joint, EBA's, Everything But Anchovies.
We were so awestruck; we were so excited to be experiencing college life!
For the next hour, I got to know some of the most interesting people that I had met thus far. I met someone who had started a French debate club in high school for the sake of it, and someone else who was interested in ultimate frisbee. It was amazing.
We have since dubbed ourselves the Pre-O group. We met every so often for reunions, where we can sit and talk about nothing for hours. For a freshman starting life in a place so far from home, friends are everything.
