BLOG: The exciting life of the pretend-a-freshman
This is me
By Aisha Stern, blogger
November 6, 2007 | 2:20 a.m.
OK, according to Ohio University's computers, mailings, etc., I am a freshman. As far as how I feel or where I am in school, I am so totally not a freshman.
I am a commuter, a home schooled student, a sister, a baby sitter, a writer, a music lover, and I could go on and on. Really, I could.
All you really need to know is this: thanks to a handy little program called Post-Secondary Education Option (PSEO), I get to attend OU while still in high school. I am simultaneously a freshman and a senior, which sounded brilliant and fun and wonderful in April when I filled out a little piece of paper and mailed it away. But now? Now that I'm actually doing it, it feels like the ultimate form of stupidity.
Every day, I have to balance one set of class assignments with another set of class assignments. I'm studying for the SAT (again) along with my medieval history and journalism classes. I'm still trying to figure out when I will find time to work on my college applications. This is supposed to be my lazy, laidback, take-as-few-credits-as-possible year. But no, I didn't want that. I wanted college! And boy, did I get it.
I have been home schooled since kindergarten. For the first time in my life, I have real, actual, final deadlines. If a test is on a Monday, it's actually on Monday. It can't be put off until Friday or taken a few days beforehand. I either take it on Monday, or I royally screw myself over. Do you know how odd a concept that is for me? My high school has deadlines, but they are the type of bendy and loose deadlines where, if I turn in an assignment 10 weeks late, I can still get the full grade for it. This allows me to be a perfectionist, an overachiever and a procrastinator. These are three things at which I’ve become very skilled.
My days are full of classes and work, which allows me to give in to my procrastinating ways. Because of my family's schedule (no teeny dorm rooms for me yet!), I spend about 10 to 12 hours each day out of my house. I spend more time at Alden Library and Donkey Coffee and Espresso than I do at home. This is exhausting, testing and, occasionally, fun. I am nearly getting the full college experience, but because of my townie experience, I already know a lot of the good local haunts. I know that you can actually get good French fries at O'Betty's Red Hot Dogs and Sausages. I know what places to avoid and when. As for the 10 minutes between classes letting out and classes starting? The crosswalks are ugly. I have seen cars hit people during those precarious 10 minutes. Those blinking lights with numbers counting backwards are there for a reason, and since I don't have an inclination to play me-versus-car, I tend to follow them. I also know that if you want to go anywhere where they actually prepare all of your food on the spot, you're going to want those chips they offer or the apple that you took from the dining hall while you wait. It will keep you from resorting to cannibalism.
This is simply an introduction to me. Over the next few weeks I will talk about what I see and do, whether it's witnessing someone drive down Union Street the wrong way or going to the Atari's at the Union (and getting a crowd surfer's foot to the face). To sum up myself more concisely: My name is Aisha, and I'm a 17-year-old senior/freshman. I like baking, writing, learning and avoiding my homework. I don't like people who try to tell me what to do or how to live my life, and I have always been that way. I hope you find yourself coming back week after week to read my updates. This is just the get-to-know-me part of the program. The next few weeks and months are when you will really get to see inside my head and find out what I've been doing, seeing and thinking.
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