By Adrienne Formentos, our co-winner of the Nathan Jillson Memorial Scholarship who recently began her first year at college.

I'll admit it. I might have passed the fifteen pound mark, but that's not as bad as my previous expectation of twenty-five, even thirty pounds, which I think is too ambitious for someone as short as me. Despite this unfortunate development, I'm really starting to love college and all my classes. In a short burst of enthusiasm, I put myself down for eighteen units/seven classes, which gives me an average of fifteen hours of studying and homework. [I greatly apologize for the excess of math and numbers in this paragraph.]

My first semester here was not as difficult as I thought it would be, given that one of my classes included analyzing contemporary movies for Christian themes and getting to know my first official "crazy-brilliant" teacher for Cultural Anthropology.

Nowadays, I spend most of my time reading until my eyeballs begin to fall out, writing papers that I hope are somewhat intelligent, and locking my door at night so intoxicated college kids don't stumble into my room and eat all the food. This pattern of behavior has all led up to me getting my first college label of "nerd", which I believe is fantastic because then it's socially acceptable for me to dwell in the library at any given moment of the day.

When I'm not in the library growing my beard and hiding from sunlight, I usually sit at my computer and read through different careers and possible majors that I am looking into. Granted, being undeclared is not the worst thing in the world, I'm just stamped with a huge "lost and confused" sign on my forehead. I'm stuck at a point where I shouldn't have to worry about things like my major just yet, but I will anyway because I'm an anxious nerd that finds every field interesting. I keep hoping something is going to jump out at me, but until that day comes I'll be in my room studying, away from Marin County's fresh air and dreaming of San Francisco.

peace,
Adrienne