Campus Greek life is in full swing—the three national sororities are having formal recruitment this week, and two of the three fraternities are having their rush. For the sororities, formal recruitment spells out evenings spent hosting events to become better acquainted with girls interested in joining, and intended to let those interested girls find their best fit. 

My time at The College has given me a lot of things. It's fostered many passions, advised simultaneous skepticism and open-thinking, and granted me chances for both exploration and (just as necessary) failure. All of these things, while granting me many different types of knowledge, have given me a special window to learn about my personal growth.

So the first week has ended (a very short week, mind you) and already I have been assigned an abundance of reading from my professors, attended a rave and harvested some succulent melons from the garden. Not much has changed on the homework front but looking around campus, I can tell that my last year at C of I will not be dull. Changes have been made to the McCain Cafe, such as the introduction of plates and cutlery (not just paper plates.) This greatly pleases me as it means that we will now be reusing plates instead of sending scores of paper plates and to-go boxes into the dump.

So recently, my fellow blogger Andrew posted on the Facebook student blogger group that we should do a profile on our favorite professors. I replied immediately with something that sounded apt, but in retrospect, was an unfortunate metaphor. I replied “ON IT LIKE A DOG ON PEANUT BUTTER”. I have strange moods sometimes.

It all starts with an essay. I'm not an admissions counselor, so I'm not sure how much it figures into the acceptance process, but we all begin our college careers with an entrance essay. There's a different topic every year, but ultimately it's supposed to tell the school something about ourselves. From Junior High, up to our Senior year in High School, we're given framework and guidance on this elusive and complex skill. And then, in our freshman year of college, we're asked to start over. 

So recently I have developed a new hobby. It is surprising what 3 months of no school will do to you. I am all for weeding my garden and taking care of chickens, but that isn't enough to keep me occupied. I started off with frolf, and also started taking panoramic photographs, some of which have been posted on this blog before. (I think a hobby is necessary because it helps keep your mind fresh, and ready for such stuff as work.) Recently I started doing two more things. I picked up Go, which is an old Asian board game. I like to think of it as chess, but on amphetamines.

I’ve been getting advice about college since the weeks leading up to my high school graduation. A lot of advice. I've yet to experience any of it, but here are some of the most common and most interesting things I’ve heard from wise minds:

It’s mid-July, and school won't start for another month and a half. But in the spirit of speeding up the clock and getting started, I’ve ordered my textbooks and am watching them slowly appear in boxes and padded envelopes on my doorstep.

You know how Lao-tzu said "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"? Well, the journey of a student experience blogger here at The College of Idaho is kind of like that, since our journeys start with a single introductory post. Sure, such a post might not be anywhere close to as deep or complex as ancient Chinese philosophy, but come on, a guy can dream, can't he?

So, last month I probably had the one of the most defining trips that I've ever been on. About three years ago, at the end of my freshman year, it was drawing close to finals and I was sitting in HIS-210 (Modern East Asia) taught by Professor Jeff Snyder-Reinke. We'd moved through most of the topics that were on the syllabus and on this day Dr. Snyder was showing us a slideshow. The pictures he showed us were captured two years earlier in the western provinces of China. These weren't stills commissioned for research purposes though.