Oh journalism camp, my only true love.

As I write this, I am listening to Aqualung's 'Strange & beautiful' (The "Jacob Wipf song," don't ask why. I really have no clue why it makes me think of him.) on repeat, so you can expect this to be a bit... I don't know. Just keep it in mind.

Let's start with the negatives.

1. Shitty dorms: We got stuck in the crappy old dorms built in 1913 because they were painting the nice ones. By 'we' I mean the girls.
   
2. Asbestos in the shitty dorms: There was literally a warning sticker on the back of my door telling me not to disturb the ceiling.
   
3. Showers in the shitty dorms: Communal with minimal curtains. Not fun.
   
4. Nasty food: There seemed to be a different kind of food that looked a good bit like vomit every day. I had a lot of plain old salad.
5. Missing all my seniors and feeling guilty about not missing them when I was having a really good time: Self-explanatory.

And now for the positives.

1. New friends: I met some people from another school that I spend a good deal of time hanging out with (read: stalking). But really, they're pretty cool.
   
2. Journalism in general: I love it. I really do. Every time I do an event like this, I realize just how much I love this industry.
   
3. Sports writing in particular: I look a smaller class (minor session) on sports writing, and realized that it might actually be fun to do.
   
4. REALLY AWESOME NEW STAFF!: They're all super. And awesome. And I love them all.
   
5. My maternal instincts being tested numerous times: I often felt like a mother hen as I watched a mass of girls follow me around the campus, because for some reason, I never got lost. And so they followed me. And at one point, I actually stood in a sprinkler, blocking it, while the other girls ran to the safety of dryer ground. My shirt was rather soaked, but I really felt like I had done something good. And at another point, I found myself literally herding girls out of the path of a firetruck that they all seemed not to see.
   
6. Cute journalism guys: There seem to be a good few of them. And I can pick a hot guy out of a room in an instant. It's like I have a built in radar.
7. Learning that I'm an awesome dancer: I was not aware of this. I still don't believe that my awkward mix of interpretive dance mixed with moves made up in my bedroom after 1 am is all that impressive. But it was enough that the majority of the staff came to watch me. Which was weird. Our staff was actually the first group on the dance floor. Let me tell you this - there is nothing more startling than dancing with a group of people, doing your own thing, having a good time, and then looking up, and realizing that the majority of the people are watching you, and mirroring your moves. I could never be a dance instructor. And also - I love dancing with gay guys.
8. Group karaoke: Aint no mountain high enough to keep the Nordic staff off that stage.
   
9. Junk food, junk food, junk food: Is it possible to get the freshman 15 just from being on a college campus? I might be well on my way there...
   

I'm tired. But happy.