by Yalie Kamara

Yalie is one with the desert.

Hello to you and yours. This is Yalie reporting live out of Riverside, Cali. First and foremost, forget what you’ve heard folks: RIVERSIDE IS NOT BY ANYBODY’S RIVER.

This place is so far in the desert. Maybe whoever named this city was dehydrated and got tripped up by an oasis. This name, my friend, is nothing short of fallacious and misleading. If I thought long enough, it would vex me.

The move from Oakland to Riverside was hard. I felt extremely stressed out and was exhausted to the point that I had a fever the morning we arrived and the lymph nodes in my neck were abnormally swollen and tender. Little did I know that had I contracted mono. I hurt and I felt miserable and had no idea why. In fact, I didn’t know until the ambulance trip to the hospital. Needless to say, the start of college did not go smoothly.  Ambulance rides are quite VIP, but like all special treatment, it is very pricy. Insurance is good.

All future and current college students: TheraFlu is a heaven send.

I miss my mom and little sister too much.

Gotta tell ya, Riverside is a spot that doesn’t get nearly as much credit as it deserves. Riverside has about 250,000 people. I use the terms “town” and “city” interchangeably. Riverside has town qualities as well as city qualities. Some parts are very barren and dry, yet beautiful. Some parts are more awake and corporate, but in general, it’s a bit sleepy. UC Riverside is really vital and important to the town. In a sense, the kids and the institution keep the town on its toes. You know what? In my humble opinion, Riverside is a town. I really appreciate it though, because it’s nothing I’ve ever experienced. I have met a lot of fellow Bay Area people, which has made life enjoyable because of our unabashed pride and use of the word “hella.”Riverside is an hour and a half away from Los Angeles, or as I like to say “Los Angeles is an hour and a half away from Riverside.”

I think a lot about how my mom and little sister are doing. I wonder if they have enough money. I wonder if my sister can join all the clubs that she wants to or if that will cut into the utility bills for the month again. I wonder how my mom’s handling the stress. She tells me not to wonder and not to worry. It’s in my nature though. She says prayer is the best thing, so I cling onto spirituality like a life support, because it is just that. In the end, we’ll all be okay and that in itself is solace and peace of mind amidst the tumult of my family’s life right now.

My roomie’s name is Ahely. My name is Yalie. Believe there’s an abundance of confusion. She’s from Los Angeles and we get along unbelievably well and it’s not because we live in the same room, it’s because we have a lot to offer each other. I know I’m going to learn a lot from her and quite frankly, I’m excited. So on the roomie-front, three thumbs up.

Ah yes, and saving the best for last: classes. Classes are really great. I love my creative writing class because it’s another opportunity to generate new pieces as well as polish old ones. Math is a struggle, as always, but I find myself asking lots of questions which will definitely help. I think I will be alright.  French 4 is great. I feel myself nearing fluency. I start my upper division courses for French after this quarter though my foreign language requirements are done. I’m working towards a minor in French. By the way, I’m a Creative Writing major. Also, I’m going to be a sophomore come winter. Helpful Hint # 2: college courses in high school help.

Well guys and gals, it’s been great. Take care everybody. It’s been great. Once again, this is Yalie reporting to you live from Riverside. Peace and Blessings.