One time in my junior English class, our teacher asked us what some of the traits our friends had to have in order to be our friends. She asked me directly what one of those traits had to be. My answer- which didn't go over very well with my peers-was that my "friends" had to have a certain level of intelligence.

One of the girls in my class-immediately after my response- said that she didn't have any criteria for her friends, that all they had to be was honest, trustworthy, have mutual interests and be a good friend, that she didn't care how intelligent her friends were.

After class, when I thought about what she had said, I found her comment to be somewhat hypocritical. OF COURSE we all have "criteria" for our friends! I mean, I may be taking it to extremes, but I'm sure one of her criteria was that her friends not be constant drunks or a drug dealers. And knowing her in the superficial way I did, I'm sure part of her "criteria" was that her friends not be lazy and be involved in school, whether in ASB or in sports or simply in school activities. I don't mean to sound snobby, but let's face it, we all have our list of qualities we look for in the people we interact with.

So this weekend I was trying to figure out exactly why I place so much importance on intelligence. Truth of the matter was that I simply could not come up with an answer. The more "answers" I came up with, the more confused I was. I was, however, able to put some thoughts together.

I think I look for a certain level of intelligence because it gives me and my friends topics to talk about that we find equally interesting and that, possible, we are equally knowledgeable in. Sure, I talk about television-though only of three shows- and sure I may know a thing or two about the life of celebrities, but at the end of the day the must fulfilling conversation I’ll have will deal with the proof of a theorem, the physics of the universe, or an interpretation of a story...and it can sometimes be difficult to find someone who is able to carry on a conversation about the above. And, of course, about the other person’s goals and ambitions are. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that, while some people may find it more interesting to talk about sports (big tennis fanatic, by the way) or the happenings around school or the latest break up, I’m more interested in stuff that other people would just find dull or unappealing (like the proof of a theorem).

Ending with this thought, maybe my peer is right, it’s mainly a matter of mutual interests...

So the first week of school is over. So long and yet so short!

This was such a hectic week. Getting to school at 8am everyday just to see if you'll get lucky enough to be given an add code is a lot of hard work, specially when you live in Santa Ana and it takes you AT LEAST an hour an twenty minutes to get to Fullerton (on the bus). My sleeping cycle definitely took a hit. And even during the weekend, I just can't stay asleep, my body is now too used to waking up early.  Wonder when I'll adjust to this new experience called college.

Community college is so different and yet so similar to high school.

So far, I've maintained the same group of friends, a SMALL group of friends at that. Bryan Galvan, who I've known since jr. high, and Anthony Lee, who I met just three years ago and yet it seems I've known him for a long time. Like in high school, people pass by that you don't know and you don't talk to. Cliques still exist.

However, there are also many differences. For one, I don't have to take lunch at a specific time, no one tells me when to do that. And while others might find that good, I find it hard to pick a regular time to sit down and eat. I honestly prefer to be told when to eat...and have free lunch =) The other difference, which really bothers me, is that students are allowed to smoke on campus. My dad smokes, so it's not that I'm not used to seeing such a habit. The thing that really bothers me about it is that I would think COLLEGE students would know better than to be doing such a thing. But I suppose that to each its own...whatever that means! The thing that I absolutely love about the college campus is that there is, thus far, no public displays of affection. I can walk down the hallway without having to worry about seeing a couple "make out." It's wonderful to see that college students are mature enough to keep their intimacies to themselves.

Wish a new college student good luck on this new journey! Which reminds me....

For a new student, I've actually had a lot of luck! I went to two different trigonometry classes, one at 8am and one at 12pm. By some chance of luck, both professors gave me an add code. In the end, I've decided to take the 8am class. Makes me feel bad knowing that I took the add code from another student for the 12pm class. Also, I was third on the waiting list for my English class. First class meeting came along and I was added right away! In addition to this, I auditioned for and made it into Concert Choir. A rather big honor, in my opinion. So, I've had pretty good luck, the only unlucky thing about this is that theses classes only make up 8 units, obviously not enough to be a full time student, something that I'm really bummed about. But I'm being grateful for what I have gotten. Unfortunately I won't have enough units to be a full time student this semester, but I suppose that's part of the experience of being a new student!