Life through lifetime rec

"Tell me and i forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and i learn." - Benjamin Franklin

[kcplaster]

The Cursed Room

I recently met a Lifetime Recreation alumnus that wanted the “low-down” of the floor. We got chatting and I told her all about who lives in her old room and just the different dynamics of the floor. I finally got to the stories of my room and she got quiet and didn’t say much and then she finally blurted out, “You have the cursed room!” For a moment a freaked out and made her tell me the story behind it and what she meant by cursed.

Come to find out, it wasn’t a ghost cursed room or an always broken room but that the people inside of the quad always get messed up and out of flow. She said that last year two people in that room ended up moving out and that’s just the way it’s always been. When I came back to the dorms later that weekend I learned that two of my roommates are planning on moving out at semester. I just couldn’t believe it! I really must have the cursed room. The funny thing is all the personalities fit with the room. Almost identical people live in the room today as did last year. It’s like all the same people gravitate to that room even though we don’t get to pick and choose.

I thought it was honestly really bizarre that this happened. I mean I would have never guessed the room we live in was the “cursed” quad of the floor! We always laughed and joked about how lucky we were that we all got placed in the same room. We all thought the room we lived in couldn’t get any better and that we not only got each other but we also got the good side of the hall and the best view. Little did we know we were actually just waiting to get screwed over by the cursed room.

[kcplaster]

Tomato, Tomahto

I think it’s so ironic that we look at the future as both exciting and scary considering those words are almost antonyms of each other. We’re all waiting for next weekend, for the next big thing in our lives but that’s also what scares us. I remember I couldn’t wait to go to college but as soon as August came closer I was scared shitless and didn’t want to leave home. It’s a cycle but that’s almost what makes it comforting because you know your going to be fine. It’s a constant reminder that your excitement should outweigh your fears.

In two weeks the whole LLC is getting the opportunity to go on a retreat to McCall for the weekend. I know I’m excited and many others are too but of course there are the select few that are afraid and just wish they didn’t have to. It’s the cycle at it again. For better or worse though we are all piling in vans and making the journey to go ice skating, swim in the hot springs and just bond as a group. It’s an opportunity many people don’t get so I’m taking it as an exciting time rather than something to worry about.

The future is so interesting considering no one knows what’s going to happen. You could have your whole life planned out but one little bump in the road can change everything. Maybe I’m excited for the McCall trip and think nothing but great things are going to happen but as soon as I get there I get they shittiest room in the house and I pout about it all weekend? And maybe the people that are dreading being trapped with everyone have the best time because they finally learn about the others on the floor and are happy as a clam. The future is something we can’t control even if we want to so we might as well do what we think is best and then hope for the best.

[kcplaster]

Exploring Different Domains

I wanted to look into the routine of the life on my floor. Do we always go to dinner at the same time? Hang out with the same people? Go to the same place every Friday night? Sleep into noon everyday? In conclusion is every new day just like the last? I wanted to look deeper into this subject and compare it with another experience in a very different place.

            I recently had the opportunity to visit the sorority life at the University of Idaho. This is obviously very different from the life at BSU so it was a perfect comparison. And wow was it different. Living with 60 other girls? Say what?? That was just way too much for me, way too much. And the funny thing is there all the same! They get up get ready, possibly go to class, go back get ready again and then go out for the night. I had never seen so much routine in my life! It made me feel so much more content with the life I live in Boise. The day is never the same and activities are abundant with all new kinds of people. I never thought diversity would be that important to me.

            My goal wasn’t to hate on sorority life or anyone else’s life for that matter it just helped me gain the bigger picture. That there are so many different people in this world and I feel lucky to know myself well enough to not fall in a trap of something I know I don’t want, the routine. I enjoy knowing that everyday can bring something new and that it will. Being static and in too much rhythm kills adventure. Feeling secure with my surrounding brings opportunity to branch out in ways I never thought I ever would.

“As long as habit and routine dictate the pattern of living, new dimensions of the soul will not emerge.” Henry Van Dyke 

[kcplaster]

Ain't Nobody Fresher Than My Clique

Talking about personality types and the different ones that surround us made me think of the friendships and cliques that have already developed on the floor. We all make our own friends and shun others out. It’s the circle of life. (Well kinda….) But anyways, it’s what we all do and as bad as it sounds it again makes us who we are. And eventually you’ll find that right clique.

It’s amazing how fast these cliques can form. I noticed them on my floor within only a few weeks of the start of school and many of them have stuck it out since. Cliques are a natural occurrence but what I don’t understand is how many of these groups, not necessarily on my floor, but just in general can be completely shut off from the outside without even thinking about letting another “member” in. We all went through high school and witnessed all the stereotypical groups but weren’t your thoughts that coming to college would make that all different? Because I did. I mean in the majority of ways it is, I hang out with people now that I would never have thought to in high school. I felt that would be the same for everyone and that just isn’t the case. It’s more of the personality traits that can’t necessarily be changed but they can be noted to help you further understand a person.

Knowing how people react is closely related to knowing your audience when writing. It’s how you act around that person or write around that audience that can make or break your relationship. As ridiculous as it sounds to a lot of people, zodiac signs can often help you understand a person better. When you find out a floormate is a Pisces you probably shouldn’t be surprised that he/she is oversensitive about a simple subject. Knowing your audience can be helpful to not only them but yourself as well.

[kcplaster]

Ego and Charm and Personality, Oh My!

Every person in the universe is unique. We all have different goals, lifestyles and characteristics. The last two months has really taught me this little tidbit. Being thrown into a melting pot of people has shown me how to not only deal but live with these different personalities. It’s another one of those life lessons that is usually learned the hard way.

Growing up you couldn’t choose your family or most of what you did with your time but now that we are all grown up and living on our own its time to come to face with reality - you’re not always going to like everyone and everyone isn’t always going to like you. This concept was a little difficult for me to wrap my mind around as a young kid but now I truly understand this statement and it’s thanks to being tossed into a community that has all different views and characteristics. The people I live with are amazingly all so different but it makes them who they are. And one can understand them more easily when you know their individual personalities. There is the jock of the floor that loves to relive his glory days and the girl that just won’t stop talking about herself or the person that thinks of nothing but the future and is always planning for something better. Once you know the story of the person it makes it that much easier to either choose to ignore or learn more about the person but these are the choices that are from here on out yours and yours only. Knowing this has a calming effect. We now have the chance to make our own friends and do what we want with the time we have. It’s like we’re now a member of the ‘grown-up society’ and we have to vote for the people that rule around us.

[kcplaster]

[kcplaster]

Tranquility.. What's That?

Living with twenty-four full time students is close to living with twenty-four full time partiers, noisemakers, drama inquirers and most importantly twenty-four very different personalities. Quiet time is near impossible and studying on the floor is out of the question. But why is this so appealing? I mean I wouldn’t change it. The friendships we make through seeing people in their good and bad make the bonds that much stronger. And in turn make you feel that much more apart of something. The people and the community really show me what it’s like to be part of a newly born family and I feel blessed to be apart of it.

The everyday life of a Lifetime Rec member is not what I thought it would be. I was deathly afraid everyone would be hiking every day and there would be absolutely no down time. I was surprisingly wrong. The majority of ones day is spent attempting studying, but we all know if you really want to be left alone to get something done then you best be going to the library. It’s a given that video games will be played all day long and a football game is on in the other room. You would never guess the floor is split directly down the middle with a male to female ratio because everything is centered around the men. We’ve learned to adapt and get along with the people of the floor. Living with people that are fond of activity makes it appealing because there will always be someone that’s willing to go to the Rec with you. Whether it’s for a yoga class, a pick up volleyball game or just a nice run on the treadmill.

The people I get to surround myself with have showed me who I want to be and where I want to go in my future. Knowing I have twenty-three people that support me and will be there for me is one of the most comforting feelings in the world. Because even when you’re far away from home you always have the twenty three in your corner. And that is tranquility.