Thursday, August 13, 2020

I have been doing some reflecting on my freshman year of college because tomorrow is the big day for my boys! I have also been showing my photos to my boys and taking a walk down memory lane. I kept photo albums with captions, people! This is gold! Ha! Oh, 18 year old Amy, you had so much to learn!

I am from Southern Indiana but I really wanted to go out of state. I did apply to schools in Indiana while at the same time applying to three colleges in Kentucky. Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky (about 30 minutes from Lexington) ended up the winner for me. It was less than two hours from my house so it wasn’t that far away. I am not sure why I ultimately chose a small school. I did apply to some big schools, too. Small schools can often be more generous with scholarship money and I know that had a lot to do with it. I wanted to see where I got the most money in scholarships. Do not overlook small private colleges for your kids. We found out it’s a lot like buying a car and the sticker price does not end up being the final price. Alumni give generously and there is a lot of money to be given to desirable students.

Fun fact: My boys have also chosen a small private college in Kentucky like I did. They will be paying less in 2020 than I had to in 1990 with their scholarships!

This was my first dorm. I loved living in the dorm and I stayed on the weekends! That was when I made my best friends! Our dorm rooms had sinks and mirrors but you had to use the communal showers and toilets. I can’t believe the Ritz-Carlton style dorm suites these days! My boys are going to have a traditional dorm room like I did.

My first dorm room with my roommate Heather. We met in July at orientation because we were next to each other in a line! We roomed together at orientation and decided to room together in the fall after that orientation experience. We ended up rooming together most of college and then for four years after college – I have lots more stories about Heather but that’s for another day! Did we not have AC? I don’t remember being hot at all!

I believe this photo is from my family’s first visit later on in the fall.

A typical posed picture before going out! Notice all these styles are back! Heather, my roommate is next to me on the right. I am on the very end on the right.

We were doing the “college girl pose” before smart phones!

Freshman year spring break – we drove to Florida in a rental car. There were four girls and we met some guys from our college down there along with other new “friends”!

My other bestie also named Heather! It’s so funny to me that I found my people basically the minute I stepped foot on the campus.

I went in thinking I would double major in Spanish and Political Science and then go to law school. I ended up majoring in Spanish, minoring in Political Science, and getting a secondary education endorsement at the same time. I fell in love with my first education class that I took “just in case” sophomore year and the rest is history! I wrote for the college newspaper, took photos for the college newspaper, had a radio show with one of the Heathers and another guy, taught Spanish lab classes, and rushed Kappa Delta sorority. I did junior year abroad in Valencia, Spain and I did my student teaching my senior year. I graduated in four years, unfortunately! I had a wonderful experience! If I could do it again, I would.

I am so so so nervous and excited for my boys! I am so grateful they get to go with the pandemic, but I am so sad that they will be doing so in a mask. The bright side is that they don’t know any different because they have never done this before! I got teary eyed on each and every visit to their college because I just loved it so much and felt such comfort there. I kept this to myself, though, I swear!

Thanks for indulging me in this little walk down memory lane! What was your college experience like? Would you do anything differently?

Amy