First day back: a lesson in real style
Elizabeth Reinking
Staff Writer
At the risk of revealing my true colors too early, I must admit something to you. And though it may serve only to convince you that my face does, in fact, appear under “nerd” in the dictionary, I figure that eventually you would have learned this on your own regardless.
What I must tell you is this: I love the first day of school. I love it! I love my first day of school outfit and my shiny new office supplies. I love seeing all the low-quality posters for events I won’t attend. I love checking out who got which fake designer purse over the summer. These things fill me with a deep profound joy, one almost comparable to what I felt when I learned that the first season of “The O.C.” was coming out on DVD October 26th. Calm down, I said almost.
OK, not all of my first days of school involved gleeful slow motion skipping across campus as daisies rained down from the sky. The first day of seventh grade in particular involves some painful memories that I can think of no better way to deal with than to present them to the entire Pepperdine student body. Apparently, back in 1995, appliqué vests weren’t the height of fashion for the 12-year-old set. Who knew? You guessed it – everyone but me.
That is, everyone but me and the eighth-grade algebra teacher, who happened to wear the same appliqué vest that day. Appliquéd with what, you ask? Well, pink and red strawberries, of course. Because after moving to a new state, wearing a pink and red strawberry vest with glitter puffy paint trim is the way to make everyone like you.
Anyway, while this was indeed unfortunate, it would not have usually been a problem, because I was not supposed to be in eighth grade algebra. However, as I wandered around in a confused new-student stupor, I happened to stumble into the wrong room while in search of my third-period class. Feel free to assume which room I then found myself in.
It might have been OK even at that point, except I didn’t realize my error until class actually started. So instead of slipping back out the door and drowning myself in the nearest girl’s toilet, I was walked to my actual class by my vest-twin and loudly introduced to my real teacher and fellow students. And thus I passed into middle school infamy, only slightly below the boy who passed gas during the sit-up test in gym.
Luckily, that was one of very few first-day-of-school low points in my life. On the whole, I find first day experiences to be positive ones, and they only improved once I arrived at Pepperdine. As you may have noticed, Pepperdine is a small school. We even have our very own fast-moving campus-wide rumor mill — a perk not enjoyed by those poor slobs at UCLA.
At a small school, it’s nearly impossible to traverse campus without running into people that you know or at least hearing a rumor about whom the people you know are hooking up with. Some students find this to be a detriment to our fine campus, but how else do they expect to hear about the girl who wore the same outfit as her professor? I mean, what a dork, right? See, this is quality stuff.
But acquiring a new set of people to talk trash about isn’t the only perk of a Pepperdine first day. Consider the classes themselves. How many other times during this semester will your professor let you go after 20 minutes of telling you that if you don’t keep up on the reading, you will fail the course and be eaten alive by rabid monkeys? (Right. Haven’t heard that one before, have you?)
The main thing I enjoy about the first day of school is its potential. Sure, your new roommate shows a disturbing interest in knife-fighting and you’ve just sold your birthright to the bookstore in exchange for 500 books they will never buy back from you.
But worry about that tomorrow. As for today – have you heard about Suzy? I heard she hooked up with Billy and her Gucci is totally fake.
08-30-2004