‘Give it time’ proves its worth by year three

As a writer reliant on sarcasm and snark to embellish tales of my college experience, I’ve run into quite an unfortunate problem. I have nothing to complain about.

This time two years ago, I was a scared first-year student in a new town 500 miles from home. Because I’m an only child (and also a jerk), sharing a room with a complete stranger who liked to wake up at 6 a.m. made me more than a little cranky. I was slogging through pre-calc. homework every night. After having the same friends for years back home, I had no clue how to make new ones here. It took quite a while to get my bearings. What do you mean, am I from East or West river? Where’s Beacom Hall? Should I or should I not press the crosswalk button?

Today, as I write these words, I’m sitting in the living room of my apartment style dorm where a few of my closest college friends are working on homework and watching Star Wars. There’s still a faint aroma of fresh-baked cookies in the air because, as luck would have it, my roommates enjoy baking sweets as much as I enjoy eating them. Later, I’ll be working on homework of my own, which includes reading “Dracula” for a class called Politics of the Vampire Genre. Not a math problem in sight.

Of course, you see my problem. How can I offer curmudgeonly observations when things are actually pretty great? My writing career is over!

Everyone told me this would happen. “Give it time,” my folks told me on the days I wanted to drop out of school and pursue a career as a human paperweight. “Be nice to people, join a club or two. Soon you’ll feel right at home.”

At the time I scoffed. I’ll show them, I thought. I went to Volante meetings and CRU retreats and made small talk during class, all out of spite, to prove that my homesickness and trepidation would not be so easily assuaged. Now look at me: social, looking forward to classes, happy. I don’t even recognize myself.

I guess it just goes to show that anything can happen with time. Surely my lack of problems will also resolve itself and soon I’ll settle back into my usual state of aggravation. While that may be true, it won’t help me meet my deadline. I suppose all I can do is try to adjust to the new and improved me, at least until something goes wrong. Then I’ll return to my regularly scheduled snark.

Either way, it’s good to be back.