The Web Wall Journal: Update # 1

Hello to everyone not in Bloomington, Illinois! This is the first update I am sending out to everyone with the conclusion of orientation week. What will be happening with these updates is that many of you will be receiving them by email. That email will also include an attachment of some writing of some sort that I have done that for some reason I feel compelled to share with everyone. The Web Wall Journal will also be posted on www.facebook.com, though unfortunately for those reading it there, there will be no story attached. If you want to read the story (or poem, though these are less common) you will need to contact me and let me know.

As of now (August 21st) I cannot get Facebook to cooperate with my new Internet. Perhaps that is simply because I am sharing it with a building/campus/everyone, but until I figure out the problem, this will be in email form first.

They have definitely kept us busy this week so far. The first day was mass chaos, but I managed to move in and still get through the day. I've actually got an ideal location here. The room is bigger than I anticipated, and I'm on the corner of the building. Ferguson Hall (where we are) is connected to Munsel Hall by lounges on each floor, so we are on the corner of Ferguson and right next to the lounge. Even more convenient, the stairs are directly to the left and the bathroom right next to that. So, the location is perfect, and the view is beautiful. The window looks out onto the campus, so much greenery to admire. Fun fact I learned during move-in day: Illinois Wesleyan University has enough trees and plant life to be considered an arboretum. No wonder I loved the natural beauty of it so much. Plus, the room itself looks great now that everything is organized. I still have just as much trouble with posters as I did at home.

Now, when I first started writing this update, I was going to say the hardest adjustment was the communal bathroom, and just reorganizing my routine so that I wasn't obscene with floor mates. However, this is not the case. My roommate Lauren and I discovered some serious difficulties with one another and, while I was willing to bend for most things, there were some points I would not just roll over for. (Believe it or not, I was willing to let her fall asleep to the television, so you can't claim I wasn't open to compromise, all of you who know how I am about the TV.) Because of paperwork, we had to come to some temporary compromises that neither of us were happy with, but since yesterday, she started looking into switching rooms. No hard feelings about it, because I was considering the same thing, and we both acknowledge it's just a difference in personalities. We figure it's best that we eliminate this problem now before we hate one another. I must say, this took me by surprise, because over the phone we sounded like we could get along really well, but I think when we actually moved in, and things were no longer just theoretical, certain things discussed over the phone were not necessarily the case.

Biggest positive surprise about moving in: I figured that after living in the basement for four years, I would hate sleeping in a room with a window facing east. Turns out, I prefer it. Having the sun come in helps me wake up much more naturally than I have in the past. Since my face faces the same direction as the window behind me, it doesn't blind me, but it helps me awaken. I already love my living space, which is aided by my plethora of four pillows.So, the only thing that really, REALLY, needs to change here at IWU (people stop pronouncing every letter once you get here, and now you'll catch me saying "I-woo" to save syllables) is the way you register for classes. Most schools have you register over the summer before you arrive. Here, you register online after a couple days of living here, but it gets better. Registration opens at exactly 3:30 p.m. on a Thursday. So, every freshman on the campus is using the exact same server at the exact same time to get to the exact same website to sign up for the exact same classes all in a matter of seconds. As you can imagine, when the time came, the server went down. (Which, all things considered, is better than what happened last year when someone pulled the fire alarm in Ferguson and every freshman in the building bolted for the opposite end of campus for the library.) So, all of us panicking ladies on Ferg 4 tried to see if we would have more success not in our residence hall. I was the lucky one to find the only computer in the Center of Natural Science next door. Everyone else was stuck going to Ames Library. Still, I didn't have any success getting on the site until after a half hour. But, good news, I got the classes I wanted! With the exception of my Gateway (freshman required) Course, which I initially got, (the class was all about inspiration) but health problems on the part of the professor got it canceled. So, because I was an English major, they figured I'd like to be in What Is Poetry For? class. Well, that's not exactly the case, but I'll put up with it rather than go through all the paperwork to switch it. Besides, I've heard the professor is one of the best on campus, so I'll probably get something out of it.Long story short, these are the classes I'm taking: German, Poetry, Chemistry of the Environment, and a philosophy class: Rights and Wrongs. What's awesome about this, is that these all fulfill general education requirements. Even better, my AP Psych test got me out of a science credit, so I only have this lab science this semester and then I'm done with it all together. Even better, I am actually interested in the class, because I liked chemistry in high school.

What I've learned thus far: Even though I haven't started classes yet, I have learned some practical things. Something I didn't expect was the adjustment. You might know ahead of time the adjustment will be hard, but you don't realize just what it's like until you get here. Even if you don't start bawling on your first night, (I was far too busy to) over the next few days, you start to feel the weight of familial and friend structure. I didn't realize how lonely it would be initially. The great news is that I get along great with the girls on my floor and I've met some very wonderful people, (I love how intellectual jokes are commonplace around here) but there is no way anyone can grow a bond here like you would with friends back home, or family. Niceties are great, and the fact that everyone is in the same boat helps a lot, but that tight bond is missing. Whenever it dawns on you, it's rough. I'm perfectly honest when I say I miss Hampshire, because I miss the people I love there, despite how fond I am of this campus. Once you realize that in many ways you are alone, it's heavy. And you get over it, I've been doing well with adaptation, and classes beginning on Monday will help with that too, but there is a very distinctive atmosphere difference between living with loved ones and living with only your peers.

These are my thoughts thus far on this slow Saturday (which I should be using to apply for jobs for work study, but I have all of a slow Sunday to enjoy doing that) and I thought I would pass them along before I get too overwhelmed with school. In the meantime, here is some things compiled over the summer.

These lists will not necessarily be with every update, but I had a lot of time to think about useless things over the summer, so you all get to read them for now.

Top Ten Books Read in the Last Year:1. East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Discovered my RA (residential assistant) thinks this is the best book ever written as well. I have read a lot in my time (though hardly enough) and I whole-heartedly believe this is one of the most incredible books written. Steinbeck is more famous for The Grapes of Wrath, but everyone I know who has read both has said it doesn't compare to East of Eden. I have not read the former, but the latter is the most thrilling story ever written. I read it over spring break, and by the third chapter, I was hooked until I finished it. If you still need a frame of reference, I think it's much better than The Great Gatsby, and you all know how nuts I am about Gatsby. Read it!

2. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. Technically, I haven't finished it yet, but it doesn't matter. The Prophet is written in poetry form, with philosophies on different aspects of life. I read one every night before bed. Tommy gave it to me as a graduation present and it is so inspiring and contemplative, you are forced to rethink how you perceive the world around you. Some of them I understand, and some of them I don't, but I get this feeling that as I get older, I'll gain greater understanding of the things I don't yet know. And knowing there's more out there than what you're aware of is a great gift in itself.

3. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. This I wanted to place at #2, but I figured The Prophet was more enlightening. Though, don't discredit this book because of it's placement. Despite being written entirely in narrative form, the pacing is strong and the story revoltingly captivating. I knew Nabokov was an excellent writer when I started to realize I was relating to the main character—a pedophile. To be honest, after reading this, watch Whose Line Is It Anyway? or something light, because this book is really heavy and makes you feel a bit dirty just by reading it, but the language and story are fascinating, controversial, and disruptive of comfortable norms. Warning: not for the weak of heart or Emily Miner, who totally disagreed with me on the pacing thing. But that's okay, because she didn't like the book The Phantom of the Opera either, so her opinion doesn't count. (Love you, Emily. I tease always in fun. :D)

4. PostSecret compiled by Frank Warren. Okay, this really isn't a book, exactly. This thing started as a community art project, and Frank started leaving postcards in museums and parks asking people to send an anonymous postcard, decorated or designed by the sender, with that person's darkest secret on it. But long after he was done, he kept receiving postcards...from all across the nation, and then even internationally. Since, he's started posting them on a website and published books with the postcards inside. It's just a really cool project, and even if you don't buy the book, check out the website. (That I actually haven't been to, but that's because I've got the book.)

5. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. For the record, when you start this book, it's slow. Very much so. But it begins to pick up when Tom is sold to an apathetic white man whose daughter's name is Eva. Before you know it, it has you hooked. Eva, actually, was one of the few inspirations for the story I'm writing now (modern-day Christ type of thing) and so I've decided it was worth the time invested in reading the book. Besides, it has a wonderful story, and even if the style of writing isn't exactly my thing, but the story was enough, and the philosophical questions throughout (not to mention the historical context into which many of these questions are being brought up) make it worth the read.

6. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. If you think that Lolita is slow pacing, (Emily) just wait until you read Heart of Darkness. (For you Hampshire High School students, that will be your senior year.) The narrative is so difficult to sift through at first, but once you accept the fact that, yes, this is how the book is written, then it gets interesting. The atmosphere is dank and the profound themes transcend time. This is another heavy one, but I am so glad I read it.

7. The Beatles by Bob Spitz. After reading this 998 page biography, you'll swear you know everything about the Beatles. It took me a month to finish it, (though I was in school and working on a Panel Project) but no biography has ever been such a page turner. You feel like and wish you were there as it is unfolding and at the end, you wish there was more to the story.

8. The Radioactive Boyscout by Ken Silverstein. This is the story of a boyscout who, as he works to achieve his atomic energy badge to become an eagle scout, discovers the desire to create a nuclear reactor in his backyard. Recommended to my brother from my uncle Michael, then from Nathan to Dad, and then from both to me, this is a crazy story that will tell you more about nuclear history and truths than you ever thought you would know.

9. Rabbit Run by John Updike. I became interested in this book when I heard the panel project presentation in AP Campbel's class. The group did such a good job that I decided to read it, though I already knew the ending. It is a worthy read, but don't expect to like any of the characters; that's not the point. This book shows a different lifestyle than any of us aspire to live.

10. Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu. Scholars actually think that this was a compilation of many Taoist writings who simply used Lao Tzu as a figurehead, but regardless, it is a fascinating book of philosophy. The Taoists I see as the transcendentalists of Chinese history, though they are not the same. Reading their writings makes you consider your own beliefs about life, its meaning, and your purpose.Song of the month: "I've Got a Woman" by Ray Charles (for all of y'alls that didn't know about my Ray Charles obsession as of late.Song of the day: "You" by Switchfoot.The poem I attached to the email was chosen because of nostalgia. It was written in my creative writing class at the end of last year, meditative on youth and growing older. As I am definitely in a new environment, and at a time of major growth, I thought it would be appropriate.

Much love until the next update!

Janna