Learning Something New Everyday

Memoirs of a pasty girl: That is what I’m titling my book if my life ever gets interesting enough to write one. I sat outside on the oval yesterday, and the temperature was an awesome 82 degrees. I had been in the English Building all day getting work done. When I returned to my apartment, my roommates and neighbors convinced me to go sit on the oval with them. The time was 5 pm, and my friends I kid you not, my legs got sunburned. I thought at first it was an allergic reaction to the grass (another chapter of my memoir: Allergies are Awesome), and I didn’t give it another thought. But today, the spot on my shin that must have been sitting in the sun, even though the rest of my body was sitting in the shade, got burnt. I didn’t think I would need sunscreen at five in the evening sitting under a tree. Turns out I was wrong.

I’m really not complaining. Red skin from the sun is much better than blue skin from the cold. Spring has unleashed the students. The oval was hopping yesterday. So many students were out with their dogs, towels, and baseballs enjoying the weather as we were. When I was walking home from my class, I noticed all of the bathing suits that have been retrieved from storage. Since the English building’s temperature is set at a lovely 59 degrees at all times, I was walking home in a sweatshirt and jeans. I felt very out of place. I also began to think about my real home. When we have nice days in Jersey, we flock to the beach. When nice days occur in Ohio, we flock to the grass.

I’ll never forget experiencing spring my freshman year of college. Once the beautiful weather hit, I was elated. My first winter in Ohio had been a near transferring experience. But that spring, I’ll never forget when I began to feel claustrophobic. I realized for the first time that I was in a land-locked state - There are no oceans around Ohio! I know you’re wondering how I even made it to college without knowing that oceans did not surrounded the state of Ohio, and of course I knew it, but it never occurred to me that this would be an issue. When weighing the pros and cons of Ohio State, my parents did not tell me there would not be a beach to go to when the temperature hit 80. Then spring rolled around, and my desire for a cool ocean breeze intensified. Growing up in a town where the ocean is right down the street, I never knew it would feel different. And it really does people, it really does. I also discovered the one positive to spending the spring in Ohio. My Jersey readers may be shocked by this information because I sure was. There is zero tree pollen covering the cars in a disgusting lime green dust. It does not exist here! My dad used to make sure I always closed my windows or else the pollen would line the inside of my car. I’m pretty sure that it comes from certain pine trees that are not found in Ohio. My allergies, while still going haywire, breathed a big sigh of relief when that was discovered.

These examples, and there are a million more (did I mention they say “tennis shoes” instead of sneakers. This one will baffle me until the day I die), are a few of the reasons I love the fact that I went to college in another state. I never thought I would be discovering a new region and culture I was unfamiliar with. I’m sure people are just as culture shocked when they visit our lovely state (I know my roommates will be this summer!), but it’s important to see how other people live. My roommates don’t know what pork roll is, and they laughed when they saw “Exit 98” as a bumper sticker on my car, but I didn’t know what “pop” was, or that they can get their 21 driver’s licenses thirty days before their actual birthday. We are learning new things about each other every day, and that's half the fun of traveling out of your comfort zone.