Here’s to a new start; here’s to Miami

Eight a.m.: Wake up not feeling like P. Diddy because it’s too early for class. It’s sunny outside, but the trees certainly help; fish are jumping; ducks walking everywhere; so many new faces walking past me; I hope I’m going the right way to class; which building was it?

9:28 a.m.: Well, that wasn’t too bad; classes certainly aren’t as big as I thought they would be; my teacher is pretty punny (adj. describes someone who cleverly uses puns); so many FSU jokes; so much football drama; so much ice cream everywhere; seriously, there’s a substantial amount of ice cream on this campus, but I’m not complaining.

12:36 p.m.: So hungry. How is it sunny and thundering? Walking takes a long time, but everyone seems to walk, longboard, scooter … or ride a foldable bike? Walking while whistling musical melodies passes the time; bringing my iPod would have been a good idea. Laughter is just as good as any music though and there’s a lot of laughter here. People are laughing with other people; people laughing at other people; people laughing out loud (really loud); people laughing to themselves; people, like me, wondering what was so funny.

3:17 p.m.: Sunny, raining and thundering? How does that even work?

5:49 p.m.: It’s the Goldilocks temperature now that the weather has made up its mind. It’s so relaxing. I’m loving these gliders. New friends are saying hello; parents saying goodbye … parents are still here? Parents are a bit too attached perhaps? But I don’t judge. I don’t think a lot of people here do.

9:03 p.m.: These dorms are exceedingly green and orange oriented, yet the students living in the mare so diverse. So many people: shy people, party people, Hispanic people, German people, Italian people, Chinese people, athletic people, artistic people. My favorite: people who are willing to indulge in new experiences, have the courage to build new friendships and consider new ideas.

Here’s to a new start. This is the start of Miami and me.