I really like dorm life. I’m a fan of just sitting in my room and talking to random people as they come in. The people on my floor are super cool. There’s a couple of people who are almost always around so I talk to them. Some others are wandering around. If I have a question about our english class, I’ll just walk into their room and be like “Dude, what quote did you use for da-da-da-da-da?” It’s great.
I’m not very homesick. I don’t know if that’s okay or not. I love my mom and my brother (and my dad too but he doesn’t live with us. I mention my mom and brother because I used to see them all the time) but I’m not feeling super empty. It would feel empty if -they- were the ones that left, because I’d be living in a place that was once filled with their presence. I’m in a new environment in which I’ve never really shared with them so I don’t really feel like anything is missing. I do miss them both.
I miss my friends too but I don’t feel empty. I think it’s because our communication started slowing down a month before I left because they’re all (except one) on the semester system. When our floor went to an amusement park the other night, I kept wanting to say “Oh, Trevor would have loved this!” or “Do you remember what Jessica said?!” but nobody from home was there to share those thoughts with. It was weird. I think it hit me then more than anything else that I’m with a -completely- new group of people. But I’ve adjusted well so I’m proud of myself for that.
I went to the music center to play the piano the other day. I passed by the bulletin board and saw sign up sheets for auditions for different groups on campus. A woman passed by and we started talking. She said the wind ensemble needs percussionists so I signed up for an audition for later that day. I was worried because I didn’t have my drumsticks with me and I had nothing prepared -and- I hadn’t played seriously in a year. I ran out to buy drumsticks. I survived the bus system by myself! It was actually pretty easy. I figured out that the 15 and 16 get me to downtown. So that’s all good.
I told the woman that I hadn’t played in a long time and I asked her if I would be allowed to use the percussion equipment for practice. She said I need to be a percussion student and told me I should sign up for lessons with Willie. I signed up for Wednesday of next week. She said he LOVES mallet players, which is what I am. I’m super excited to play Marimba or Xylophone again. I miss playing mallets.
Anyway, I went to go to my audition for the wind ensemble later that day and I was 5 minutes late. I left way early but the shuttle took forever getting to the bus stop. I ran through the recital hall and all through the music center trying to find the audition room. Someone pointed me in the direction of the conductor. He was super friendly and told me not to worry about being late. They don’t audition percussionists. What I’m supposed to do is show up at rehearsal on Monday night and if there are too many percussionists, they’ll audition us. I told him I’ve been playing piano since I was 8 and he got super excited. He said that for their repretoire for this year, they need a pianist for some parts that’s also a percussionist. I don’t want to get too excited or over-confident because I don’t know the skill levels of everyone else that’s interested but I am confident that I would be able to play the music very well.
I think I’m going to go to the lounge to play the piano. Thank God there’s a piano near my dorm and I don’t have to go to the music center all the time!