What have I gotten myself into?

So, I'm here. The first two days flew by, and after my arrival at LAX is when the roller coaster of emotions comes in.

I'm going to be honest: I had high expectations for this semester and the experience that will come with it. But as the shuttle from the air port took me past the city, and the cab ride from the shuttle stop took me even farther away, my heart began to sink. My cab driver happened to be a recent graduate from CSUN, and during the drive through a suburban-looking neighborhood on our way to campus he told me how little there was to do around here. How its hard to get to the city. How there really aren't any parties on campus. I feel like I'm going to puke at this point.

After the disheartening trip to campus, I lugged my 79lb suitcase to check in and finally to my apartment building.  I walked in and eyed the crafty construction paper signs warily. They reminded me of Centennial, the dorm I lived in during my freshman year at the U of M. After stepping out of the elevator on the third floor and seeing another similar sign, my suspicions grew. The reality of my situation set in when I got to the door to my apartment. On it was a tacky sign with a mini box of cereal taped to it and four names written on what appeared to be construction paper noodles being poured out of the box. What the fuck. This is a dorm.

Completely distraught, exhausted from my flight, and starving, all I wanted to do was sit down in that dorm hallway and cry. I had not expected this. This was supposed to be an APARTMENT. You can't tell me I'm signing up for an APARTMENT when I'm actually signing up for a DORM. I'm a nearly 22-year-old senior in college. Is this some kind of joke? Its only 11am in California and I'm about to have a breakdown, which is something that rarely happens to me. Luckily, two of my roommates were already moved in, so I didn't have a chance.

I unpacked slowly, trying to soak everything in, flipping back and forth from feeling confident that everything would turn out and trying to hold back tears (badly). One of my roommates, Grace, helped me get my mind off things with a Subway lunch and a Target run. She confirmed the fears that the cab driver had planted in my head. There really was nothing to do around here, and it was hard to get anywhere else without a car. Que almost unsuccessful tear stoppage.

We got back to the apartment and I decided to distract myself by walking over to campus and having a look around. This is when things start to change.

NEXT UP: Bamboo, cacti, an orange grove and my return to earth.