Tag: SEMO

Things I Learned in College

~ JodiLea

But Not in the Classroom…

I learned a lot of stuff I didn’t really need to learn. If for some reason I actually need to know some of that stuff, it’s too late. I’m sure it is forgotten by now. This doesn’t bother me, because I don’t plan to return to college and be forced to remember. I took classes to get my degree, and I did.

It’s the obscure, not mentioned in class, or by professors, knowledge acquired by life’s circumstances & choices that I feel the need to pass along to my young adult readers. So they won’t be as naive and clueless as I was, upon entering college.

Towers-North Dorm

This 12-story building is actually four towers (North, South, East & West), they connect in the center. My BFF and I were room mates in North Tower, third floor, room 302. The streetlight closest to the building could be a flashlight shinning from our floor manager’s room. Oh, that reminds me …

  • If you must ‘moon’ out a dorm window – do it from someone else’s room.
  • Do not ever, no matter how much they whine and beg, do a guy’s laundry for him. Ever!
  • Think twice before sliding sideways wearing socks, on a waxed floor in order to pass by a friends room, while looking at them. It only worked for Tom Cruise, in Risky Business and that could have been faked. It did not end well for me.
  • Ideas you come up with as you drive back to the dorm from a beer bust, are usually not good to act on. Sometimes they could be considered crimes. But those can be hysterically funny. Pee your panties funny.
  • Coke-cola, or hot cocoa, will remove old bleach stains from ugly green floor tiles.
  • Barfing into a planter, outside of a Burger King, is humbling.
  • Do not accept a ride home from a guy you met at a Hoe Down [a.k.a go home with the person you came with]
  • Don’t date someone that treats you like dirt. No matter how cute they are
  • Vinyl record albums will not break when thrown from the 12th floor in anger
  • Good table manners you learned at home are not appreciated by your friends who want to “get to the party already!”
  • Don’t lean in when you are asked to smell someones ice cream. It’s a trap.
  • Small town drive-in movies do not show wholesome entertainment.
  • Frat guys will promise you anything to get you in their room. Then they pout when you really wanted to watch “The Grinch who stole Christmas” on their TV.
  • Chinese Fire Drills should make a comeback. We all can use more exercise.
  • Oh, and the most astounding thing of all? I had a 4.0 that year and the internet had not been invented!

TTFN

 

Why I Believe …

~ JodiLea

                  [Weekly Writing Challenge: The Best Medicine]

"Super Chick"
Just One of Super Chick’s Missions

Unless you went to Southeast Missouri State between 1977-1979, and lived in the North Tower, on the 3rd floor – odds are you haven’t seen this superhero before.

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Although she looks more like a villain here, ‘Super Chick’ is known for her unique sense of humor and creative thinking. She was critical to my (and a number of other introverted girls) health and sanity, especially during mid-terms and final exam season.

S.C. would be in her room studying, as most of us were, and would suddenly slam her book shut, jump up and yell “I’ve had enough!” The entire 3rd floor became silent, anxious for what would come next. It was very eerie, because a floor that housed 24 women is NEVER silent.

One tense pre-final evening, S.C. declared that we needed to re-connect with our inner-child. She drove us to a public park. In our pajamas. That, was how faithfully we followed her. S.C. was our guru of laughter and we could not help ourselves. She never barked orders or forced us, she would simply declare something and we were on board because she made it sound so Right.

So… that night we swung on the swings, climbed the jungle-gym and slid down the slides. Over and over. And we laughed like loonies until our sides ached. We were there maybe 45-minutes before returning to the dorm.

We slept like the dead, then got up the next morning and aced our exams. Coincidence? I think not. Even S.C.’s roommate earned a 3.98 GPA, and a place on the Dean’s list (his good list this time).

Thank you, Super Chick!

♥ Look for humor in everything – find it, then give it away. It’s only funny when you share it with someone. ♥