How to Survive Living Off Campus

This article was originally published in The Western Carolinian's Back to School issue - the Freshman Survival Guide section.

"Moving off campus is as big of an adjustment as moving on campus was when students were freshmen. Suddenly, there is cooking, cleaning and trying to find a parking space to worry about and plan. This guide will make life a little easier and help cause less stress.
First, parking does not always have to be a headache. If you choose to become a commuter student, remember to register for your parking permit online before coming to campus. This will save you and One-Stop time and effort. This year, parking passes are $84 and by registering online, the parking pass is mailed to whatever mailing address you desire. The $84 is charged to your student account and the pass arrives at your door after a 24-hour processing and mailing time. However, obtaining a parking permit requires more leg work after Aug. 1. You must go to the Parking Services Office or One-Stop, both on campus buildings, to receive your pass. You may still register online, but the permit will not arrive in your mailbox. After Aug. 19, only One-Stop will have parking permits to give.

Once you have your parking pass, know the lots you where you can park! Parking Services will boot your car with an ugly orange metal contraption that means “You cannot move until we say so” or a white fluttering ticket on your windshield that ruins any day. You might stand a chance of getting the ticket dismissed thanks to Student Government Association’s Traffic Court, but it is easier and quicker to avoid tickets and boots altogether. The Parking Services website has very detailed and insightful maps to make sure commuters, staff, faculty, on campus students and visitors park in the right areas every day of the week. If you are a commuter, learn the routes of the Cat-Tran so that you can safely park in a spot that may be a good walking distance from your classes but is safe from tickets or boots. Ride the Cat-Tran to your classes or put on some good walking shoes for a brisk walk to breathe in that fresh mountain air. Some students frown or make jokes about the Cat-Tran, but your tuition fees go toward the purple buses whether you ride them or not, so enjoy and partake in the campus transportation system. There is also an express route from the new Health and Human Sciences building to the back of the University Center this year. The route is specifically designed to get students from the Health building to main campus and back again in enough time to attend their classes on the separates campuses.

If you do not want to bring your car to campus at all, bicycles are a plus because there are several shortcuts across campus that you cannot use with your car. Many off campus apartments designed for students, like The Summit or Rabbit Ridge, are within easy biking distance to both main campus and the Health and Human Sciences building. Also, there is the Catwalk to safely cross Highway 107. Over the summer, a new crosswalk was built across the highway at the bottom of the hill of The Summit Apartments. Now, students can signal the stop lights to stay red for them to cross the streets without playing the most dangerous game of tag ever played.

One of my roommates!

In previous years, a shuttle ran to nearby off campus apartments on a loop every weekday. Students did not have to pay for this service, and it saved money on gas and parking permits. It was also less of a headache because you did not have to fight for parking spaces or arrive two hours early for class to make sure there was one left.
According to Jackson County Transit, who ran the shuttle, Western Carolina University did not renew their contract, and there will be no more off campus shuttle services through the Transit. However, Don Taylor from Cat-Tran told The Western Carolinian exclusively that the Cat-Tran is now responsible for the off campus shuttle service. They will follow the same route as Jackson County Transit, stopping at the same apartment complexes, said Taylor.
Dining is another huge issue for off campus students. There are two different commuter meal plans one can choose in order to save on groceries and washing dishes. The Commuter Declining Balance plan is $500 of DB points, which can be used at any dining location. The Commuter Block plan is 25 block meals to be used at the upstairs Courtyard Dining Hall throughout one semester plus $374 DB points to be used anywhere. This plan is helpful in that you are still able to eat with your friends upstairs with their on campus meal plans without using up your DB points.
If you run out of points or are not interested in eating upstairs at Courtyard, there are great places to get a meal or groceries in your local community of Cullowhee and Sylva.

Until October, the Farmer’s Market runs every Saturday morning in Sylva and every Wednesday evening in Cullowhee. Get the freshest, healthiest vegetables and even cuts of meat, cheese and fish from local farmers. Herbs, lettuce and other products can be found cheaper at the Market than at stores like Food Lion or Wal-Mart.
For snacks and bread products, try the Flowers Baking Company next door to Rae’s City Grill, previously The Bone Shack. Flowers is a bakery outlet and sells products at significantly lower prices like eight Nature’s Own hamburger buns for $.59 and loaves of bread for under $2 each. Shoppers can also find Blue Bird snack cakes, ketchup, honey, bags of chips, pies and other goodies for their pantries. Pick up a Customer Appreciation Card for more savings.

For other ways to save on groceries, browse the websites of Food Lion and Ingles to see what is on sale then add the coupon onto your MVP or Ingles Advantage Card online. Try not to fall into a routine of only stopping at one grocery store or another. Wal-Mart, Food Lion, Harold’s Supermarket in Dillsboro, Ingles and Sav Mor all have different sales going on during any given day, and by planning ahead, you can save more money and find better deals. If you and your roommates are planning on splitting the cost of groceries, shopping at Wal-Mart is not your best choice. Food Lion and Ingles provide deals like Buy-One-Get-One-Free and provide more discounts on family-sized products than Wal-Mart."

For the full article... CLICK HERE!

Stone Cold Oath

I want to make an oath for myself in front of all of you.

This past week has been full of drama and grief. You all know from previous posts that I rarely party and I certainly don't drink alcohol. I want to make it very clear that this oath does not come from a week of me getting smashed or heaving the alcoholic contents of my stomach in a porcelain bowl. No, I was stone cold sober the entire week. This oath comes from what I witnessed other people doing.
Before this day, I have only sipped a few drinks. Mike's Hard Lemonade. Cheap champagne. A badly made screwdriver. A strawberry daiquiri with not even a full shot of liquor. Not even a whole beer. But I always wondered if I ever found something I liked the taste of... would I enjoy it and start drinking more? Well, now all of that has changed.
After witnessing this past week and particularly one evening, I swear never to drink even a sip of alcohol again. I don't want it. I don't want that to be my kind of fun. I never want to become that kind of person.
I'm doing this for me and for my health and for my peace of mind. I'm also doing it for my future husband and my future children. I am setting an example for my sisters to look up to and I'm setting an example for the kind of life I hope my future children (should I have any) live one day.
This is the end of something that, thankfully, never began!!! In my opinion, I'm losing nothing but gaining the recollection of every memory I'll ever have and never doing anything I won't knowingly mean to do.

Duck, North Carolina

Life of a Journalist 3: A Reflection of The Flaming Arrow

Sylva sunset

This was my column originally published July 20, 2012 in The Western Carolinian. 

I started working in the journalism field at "The Flaming Arrow." It was a tiny pamphlet-like booklet with no color whatsoever and folded like a magazine. In the center sat two giant staples that held it together and forbade the reader from turning to any of the other pages. It only wanted to happily sit open at the page where the staples were visible. This was my high school newspaper, and it is how I got started in all of this.
"The Flaming Arrow" was not what one would call "hard news." The biggest stories we ever covered were on teen pregnancy and the asbestos concern in the school's ceilings. Everything else had to do with feature stories on interesting teachers, who won the recent rivalry football game (which definitely was not us) and where students traveled for the holidays. Our biggest and greatest story every year was what happened and who showed up at prom! The truth, most students wanted the newspaper for the buy one, get one free six-inch Subway sandwich advertisement. Most kids would tear out the back page and throw away the rest without looking at it.
But to our ten-person staff, "The Flaming Arrow" was our pride and joy. It was the main reason that I finished high school.
Maybe you have found that talent comes absolutely natural to you. It is like breathing. You don't have to think about it, and further instruction on how to improve that talent is neither difficult nor stressful. For me, that was journalism, and with "The Flaming Arrow," I got the start I needed to move forward into college.
Until I actually got to college... My journalism class in high school was taught by an English teacher, who graduated from Western Carolina University. He not only encouraged me to attend WCU but also to get involved with the paper. Boy, did I get a shock when I stepped into the Old Student Union building for the first time! 

 Did you know that there is a separate style for journalism articles? I certainly did not, and neither did my English teacher who taught us to write in MLA like he would for an English class. The news reporting AP style was something completely different and bizarre. No italics! Commas have no rhyme or reason to them. Only the first word of a headline, unless part of a series or a proper noun, is capitalized. I was baffled.
Thankfully, The Western Carolinian is a teaching newspaper, one that guides and corrects in a forceful but non-threatening manner, one that does not grade or judge but helps to improve. With that in mind, I blazed forward from a staff writer in the Arts and Entertainment department to being the first sophomore News Editor in several years.
I would encourage anyone and everyone who has not found that natural, raw talent to seek it out without delay or hesitation. While it is important to try new activities and get out of The Comfort Zone, there is nothing wrong with relaxing in the fact that you can recognize the gift that makes you unique. It can take you places you never thought possible.
You may have read the stories of my freshman days in "The Freshman Fifteen" or how my cat and I went through living off campus together until I decided to transfer away to a different university. But, what brought me back to Western Carolina was this paper, and I will always look back to reminiscence on my "The Flaming Arrow" days as the starting point to bringing me here as your Co-Editor-in-Chief.

Busy Busy Day

It's a busy day here in Sylva!! The sun is shining, the temperature is rising, and Stuart and I are running around like crazy to get everything done today.
Yesterday, we spent the majority of our time packing up his apartment in Balsam then unloading his belongings into our Sylva home! It was hard, hot work!! And thankfully, Stuart's friend pitched in with the bigger furniture. All that's left is his queen-sized bed and giant TV! That will not happen today, however. Today is full of other things!!
To do before sunset today:

1. Deposit pet sitting payment at BB&T
2. Purchase hamster bedding from Fish & More Pet Store
3. Schedule steam cleaning for Stuart's apartment
4. Schedule car inspection for Stuart's Honda Civic
5. Pay for Stuart's X-rays
6. Take recycling and trash to SRC
7. Drop off Western Carolinian subscription check at the University Center on campus
8. Clean bathtub bathroom!!!!
9. Pay Stuart's rent in Waynesville
10. Go to Food Lion
• Tilapia
• Chicken thighs
• Pickles
• Gala apples
• Corn
• Lemonade mix
• Pickle relish
• Mayo
11. Call Justin for various information!
12. BUY MILK!!!
13. Go to Lowe's to buy a piece for the window that Sparta broke
14. Pay the power bill
15. Pack up more stuff from Stuart's place
16. Volunteer at animal shelter... maybe! 

62. The Doctors' Secrets to a Lifetime of Clear Skin

Book 62: The Doctors' Secrets to a Lifetime of Clear Skin by Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields (A-)

What a quirky, sweet book to get as a freebie gift in your Proactiv kit! It was a quick book with 30 myths, tips, and facts about controlling your acne. It was simple and easy to read. The colorful pages were delightful, and every page was helpful.
Here are some tips I didn't know:
Tip 7: "The sun is acne's friend - not yours.
"One of the oddest myths about acne is that the sun is a key ally in your fight - particularly in drying pimples. If by "good for acne" we mean "it encourages more acne" then, yes, the sun is good for acne. Let's be clear: the sun makes acne much worse and should be avoided. A tan can temporarily hide a red, broken-out complexion. But where did that get you? As that tan fades, your skin starts to shed more cells - which clog pores and trigger more breakouts a few weeks down the road" (20-21).

Tip 12: "You can't even GIVE acne away.
"Sometimes your acne can make you feel like an outcast... No one can catch acne... The process of how those bacteria cause breakouts depends on many other individual factors - including the type of oil your glands make and how easily your pores clog. Sharing pillowcases or dancing cheek to cheek with someone experiencing a full-on breakout will not make your acne worse. So don't shy away. Acne is already a lonely experience" (30-31).
Tip 24: "Scrubs can be the pits.
"There are earnest, well-meaning fans of facial scrubs that contain ground-up fruit parts - usually walnut or apricot pits - believing that such "natural" cleansing will deliver the deep-down clean that's bound to help clean up acne. Right? Wrong! That sharp edges from these particles actually causes MICRO-TEARS IN YOUR SKIN, leaving it raw and irritated - potentially making matters much worse. You want to shed, not shred" (54-55)!

Works Cited:

Rodan, Katie and Fields, Kathy. The Doctors' Secrets to a Lifetime of 

Clear Skin. Guthy-Renker, LLC, 2009-2011. Print.

Kodak Moment: Fall Semester 2011

Maybe I've posted some of these before on Photo of the Day, but here are some great photographic memories from this semester.

I moved to Greensboro ( I love Sparta in this photo)

Us sisters and our boyfriends had a great time at Scarowinds

I got some awesome-looking scars from Sparta

I don't like Labs but Fleetwood was just the best dog!

My pet sitting business really took off!

Best Thanksgiving ever!

DISNEY ON ICE!!!!! <3

Cullowhee - Where I Wanna Be

So it's now official.... For the past month, I have been deciding how I want to where I want to continue my college education. As you all know, UNCG has not been as great as I had hoped, and upon visiting Western to see my friends, I realized how much I missed being in that crazy, cold place. Yes, I complained about it a lot and it took some getting used to, but I realized I made a mistake and I want to go back.

Fun at WCU

My friends are there.
There's a nice, steady job waiting for me there.
There's a Creative Writing minor there.
There are two animal shelters there that I have loved and worked for and miss.

Kitten at animal shelter

I made a mistake, and now I'm taking the steps to reverse it. On Wednesday, I had a phone conference with a Western Carolina adviser from the English department. We talked, discussed, and planned out my return. That night at midnight, I registered for 13 credit hours of classes at Western Carolina. All that's left is to transfer over my financial aid (which no one seems to know how to do) and then I'm back!! I'm a Catamount again!!!
I am so excited about this! Justin is going to give me back my spot as News Editor and I will shadow him for the position of Editor-in-Chief. I will get to hang out with my friends, be at a place I know and respect, and my adviser is freaking awesome!!!!!
The only downside is I lose the short commute to Stuart's place. He will, of course, remain in Raleigh, and it's going to be hard for both of us. I hope we'll make it through just like we did last time!

Guest Blog: Written by Stuart

Stuart and I have been dating for 10 months now. We met in the little town of Cullowhee where we both attended Western Carolina University. We began dating on October 7th and in December, Stuart graduated with a bachelor's in hospitality and tourism. He moved back to his hometown of Raleigh to work at a job all of us hope to get when we graduate college. We began round one of our long distance relationship and survived. Over the summer, we shared a home, two pets, and an amazing adventure in growing up and becoming adults. Now, our long distance relationship continues as I have moved to Greensboro to continue my college degree at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.
You have all heard my thoughts and feelings on this move. Now, he wants to tell you his. This was written on Tuesday, August 9th.

~~~

"Tonight marks the restart of Lex's and my long distance relationship. We spent yesterday and until the mid afternoon of today in Greensboro finishing the process of moving her into her new house. It was a sad day for us, because we, or at least I, found myself counting down the hours until I had to leave. It was a familiar feeling, and it made me reminisce about leaving her in Cullowhee after I came to visit. But it was somehow different, too. It felt a little less stressful.  I only had an hour drive (instead of four and a half) and knew with her being so close, I could visit her even when I didn't have two consecutive days off. Knowing all of this comforted me, and I think with time, will comfort her too. 

"Now, don't misunderstand me, I still cried and was very sad as we hugged and kissed in her driveway right before I left. She looked at me with the most saddened and desperate eyes while she begged me not to leave. When I look back in the coming years, remembering the good and bad times, that will  be one of the worst. No fight we have ever had compares to the despair and heartbreak in those eyes and pleas that both conveyed and caused me to feel. Even now, 12 hours later, my throat tightens and tears will up at that image. I'm sorry it hurts so much, baby. I miss you too.

"But I don't think it started to hit me until around 10 p.m. tonight at work. We were pretty much done, just the last few tables left, and I just felt dead, heavy. I moved around slowly, really more out of habit than actual conscience decision. I knew that I was going home to my apartment without Lex, which right now doesn't feel like home. As I drove home, the feelings of sadness and loneliness increased with each mile. When I made the last turn before my apartment complex, I began softly crying slow tears. I envisioned walking past my roommate and his new lady friend and choking on my words when she asked were my girlfriend was. I knew I would be unable to answer her. 

"As I opened the door I caught myself just as I was starting to call the cat's name, "Sparta," as I had done almost ever night upon returning from work. As I walked down the hall, I cried more, until I reached the bedroom door. I turned on the light and a note tacked to the wall caught my attention. "Be Happy." I slumped against the wall beside it, touching it, upset because I couldn't be happy because Lex wasn't there, and upset because she wanted me to to be happy and I couldn't do that for her.

"I turned to examine the rest of the room, searching for anything of hers left behind. At first I saw nothing, but then I began noticing small things: our coloring book picture, a stained glass panel, her blue pen on my nightstand, a pile of thumbtacks on a drink coaster, her towel. All her posters are gone and my room has lost all its character, all its feeling. The only spark of life in its empty vastness are the sounds of Nutmeg the hamster moving about her cage. I have decided I am not letting her live with Lex because in holding and playing with it I can see Lex doing those very things, and I am not willing to lose those memories. 

"I miss her a lot tonight; it's always harder in the beginning. I would say it gets easier as time passes, but it's not so much that it's easier... but that the first nights are more shocking than the ones that follow. I know I won't cry every night on the way home from work, just like I know she won't cry every morning when she wakes up. We will both find things to do to occupy our minds and keep us busy during the times we are apart. And when we are together, we will try to relish every minute and not take our time for granted."

~ Stuart

The Summer of 2011, a Review

The summer is coming to a close and quickly. I have finally found a place to live in Greensboro, and the keys are jingling on my key ring. It's a cute house close to campus I'm sharing with Joe and Anna (or JoAnna) and our three pets. I move in on August 6th and start my new job as a Sandwich Artist at Subway on August 10th! School starts soon after!!

Best thing that happened: moving in with Stuart

Worst: Car insurance business and never finding a job...

Best single day: First day at the Outer Banks with Stuart for our 9-month anniversary

Worst: Being sick because of the heat when the air conditioner was out; Ralph the bat being put to sleep!

New friend: Kerrigan, Mitchell's daughter

Song of the summer: "The Last Goodbye" by David Cook, "Sleepwalker Glam Nation Live version" by Adam Lambert, "Friday is Forever" by We the Kings

Artist of the summer: We the Kings

Best day trip: Going to Greensboro and finally finding my new house!!

New house on Milton Street

Wish I had: been able to swim more

Movie of the summer, DVD: Long Way Down series, 300, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Movie of the summer, theaters: Water for Elephants

Most proud of: Making it work with Stuart and working hard on my new novel

Could have lived without: Cleaning out the Cullowhee apartment

Couldn't have lived without: Stuart

Loved: How hard Stuart tried no matter how sick or bitchy I was

Wished: Stuart and I had had more time

Dreamed: Many strange things!

Surpised by: Talking to The Viking again?! What?? Didn't see that one coming.

Appreciated: Stuart's tireless efforts to make sure I had the best summer

Hated: Family drama, money problems, Ralph the bat's untimely death!

Stressed over: Never finding a job, keeping my car, finding a house in Greensboro, getting my college stuff organized

Smiled at: My adorable hamster, my silly Sparta, my adventures in Mount Holly, being with MK, and Morgan asking me to dance at Vic's Italian Restaurant

To be continued: Finish my novel, never give up on my relationship, and trying new foods

Ma's wedding

11. Hurricane: The Story of a Friendship

Book 11: Hurricane: The Story of a Friendship by Dorothy Whitney Ball (B)

Hurricane is one of those slow-moving stories that doesn't have a significant plot, but more of a theme. I choose it as a book to read to Morgan, knowing he'd enjoy a simple story of two boys growing up in the South. Obviously, he was able to identify with it more than I was as girls are completely absent in the book.
Two boys, one white (Davey) and one black (Luke), are the best of friends growing up in the bean-picking part of Florida during the time in America's history when racial tensions were at their highest. The two boys refuse to conform to anyone's idea of race or friendship. They stick together through the trials and tribulations of growing up, battling Davey's grandfather of allowing him to play with Luke and the town's perceptions of black people are lesser than the white majority. In the end, Davey, Pop, Luke, and his family must all come together when a hurricane threatens Florida.
Published in 1964, the book was a bit too simple for me. Morgan seemed to enjoy it and looked forward to the nights I got to read it to him. The only exciting part of the book was the last two chapters when the hurricane hit. Before that, it's just random happenstances that the boys go through that proves how "awesome" and "amazing" Luke is even though he's black (according to the thought processes of the town's white people) by having him save a neighbor's house from a wildfire and helping Pop when the old man slices open his foot with a hatchet.
I definitely missed the age group boat on this one. A good book... but not necessarily for someone who just read The Children of Men... as bad as that was.

5. My Side of the Mountain

Book 5: My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (A - )


Georgina Deeb

I forget how horrible and awful George's ending are typically are. In Vulpes the Red Fox, she killed off the fox after a big hunt with a single shot and that was it!!! In this book, a boy named Sam runs away to his grandfather's land in the mountains and begins to live for a year in the woods. It's not because of some distaste for consumerism. It's not because he wants to be Thoreau though he is called that by his friend "Bando," a lost school teacher. It's because he's a young boy at that age where they want to run away from home. So he does. He tames a peregrine falcon, lives off the land on nuts and meats, and turns a hemlock tree into a house.

But the ending SUCKS!!!! Acceptable endings would have been:

1. Sam decides for himself to return to New York City
2. His family shows up to collect him and Sam mysteriously disappears but some people whisper they see a "wild boy" in the Rockies or in Appalachia
3. Sam dies!!! Even this is better than the actual ending, like in the film Into the Wild, which is based off a true runaway

The actual ending is Sam's entire family that he ran away from shows up on his mountain and immediately begins to build an actual house. Sam calls them out on it, saying "you're ruining everything!" and he's right! And then not even four sentences later, the boy shrugs and gives up. And, his family moves in and builds an actual house just because the mother got offended by how journalists described her in newspaper editorials. George writes such beautiful, beautiful books about the forest and the wild then ends them like this!! I wanted to throw the book against the wall. If it weren't for such a horrible ending, this book would have an A+. I forgot how amazing the book is since I last read it in 7th grade. But that freaking ending!!! It makes me want to scream.
Otherwise, the book is unbelievable starting with a boy in a tree worrying about a snowstorm then flashing back to the beginning of the journey. There is so much character in the boy written on a level for middle school students but just as enjoyable for adults as well. I hope that the two sequels, The Far Side of the Mountain and Frightful's Mountain, aren't tainted by the Gribley family trying to modernize everything.

The Gray Area

At Tuesday's ballroom dance class, I was doing the cha-cha with Jonathan from "Sweet-N-Low." We were stepping back and forth in our little corner, trying to master a new move that involved me pivoting. I just couldn't get it down. There was something about the dynamics that I was missing. Upon finally accomplishing it, I felt such awesomeness! We performed the move a few times with success before stepping apart and taking a break.

Suddenly, things got fuzzy. A heavy heat settled over my brain. Everything became slow. I couldn't focus on what Jonathan or anyone else was saying. The room became stiff and stuffy; the air had been sucked out! My knees began to wobble; my strong legs turned into jelly left in the sun. Jonathan moved toward me to try the dance step again. He took my hands and stepped back in the first move, but I shook my head, staring intently at the ground.

"No, no...nonono," I remember saying.
"No?" Jonathan questioned.
"No..." I struggled to lift my head up to meet his face. "She" - I pointed at my friend Kat who had ran off to get me food - "she's gonna to get me s-s-stuff..."
"Stuff?"
"Um...uh..." My memory was blanking. The ability to form words was quickly declining. It was the beginning of the end. "Sugar!" I managed.
"You. Sit down. Here. Sit down," Jonathan said. (If you had read "Show of Splenda," it is obvious that JC has a full understanding of what I was feeling.)
I sat. And waited for normalcy to return...
This is an occurrence that happens a too regular basis!

* * * *

I tell this story because of something that happened before Spring Break that until now, I have been too angry about to write about it rationally. Even still, I might get a bit carried away if I get going.

For months, I have been waiting for my sugar to be low enough to get it tested at Western Carolina's Health Center. Finally that happened. And when I got there and my sugar was tested, I had a big surprise!!

My blood sugar, as weak and horrible as I felt, was at 88.

Normal is around 100.

...There was nothing wrong with my blood sugar.

However, no one could tell me what was actually wrong with me. I got pricked then questioned like a prisoner about my entire health history but still, I felt no one was actually listening to what I was saying. Whenever I said "this has been happening my whole life" or "I've experienced this since kindergarten," the nurse or physician would skip by it and I would catch a disgruntled frown on their faces. It was frustrating like "I'm telling you the truth. Why isn't this as important to you as it is to me? This is my life!!! I need help fixing it!"

After snacking on some Saltines and peanut butter and answering the never-ending, often repeating questions, I was given this as a diagnosis:

"You're a tall, skinny, 19-year-old female. Sometimes, people of your height, weight, and age can become hypersensitive to these kinds of things."

.......

WHAT?!?!!?

Are you saying that I nearly black out in dance class because I'm hypersensitive?

That I was wheeled through the Denver, Colorado airport in a wheelchair after throwing up for two days because I'm hypersensitive?

That I spent nearly every month vomiting in a toilet when I was between the ages of five and seven because I'm hypersensitive?

That I need other people to literally carry me up stairs or even down the hall after not eating for too long because I'm hypersensitive?!

....

At that point, the doctor was studying me. "You look like what I'm saying is bullcrap," she informed me as I continued to stare at her. "What's going through your mind?"

I explained that after everything I've been through, that just didn't seem to fit. "I just want to know what's wrong with me," I admitted.

And then she said something I will NEVER forget... something so insensitive and rude, something so out of place for the context we were in: a scared, young female student begging for answers and a supposedly professional doctor... her answered was: "Well, medicine isn't as black and white as we'd like it be."

...It was then that I stopped listening to anything else she had to say. And, I left the Health Center stressed and in tears.

* * * *

She's wrong. I know she's wrong! I can't tell you how or what is actually wrong with me, why I have these horrible, crippling spells. Maybe she's right about one thing; maybe it's not hypoglycemia. But it's more than hypersensitivity! Because I know my body and I am the only person who knows what I go through, and it's more than this! I was so frustrated, so disgusted by that woman's insensitivity, and so broken hearted that I didn't get any answers! It was worse than having my heart broken by a boy.

Dear physician who told me such things, that is my life that you're just throwing out the window with your insensitive words. The way you treated my situation was deplorable, and if I knew the right people to talk to... I would highly recommend your removal from the Health Center. Because of you, I feel horrible about myself, like I'm making up my own sickness in my head and that I'm a liar about what's happening to me. You have only fulfilled the theories and anecdotes that hospitals and health care facilities are horrible places!

* * * *

I will find out why my body reacts the way it does! And, I will find a cure, and I will get better!!! Because I REFUSE TO LIVE MY LIFE LIKE THIS!!!

However, I am extremely thankful that this is all that's wrong. While Jonathan and I have similarities, I do not have to inject myself with insulin every day nor have I experienced the hospital stay from Hell that he did when he was 12. And, I'm not taking pity on him. In the short time that I've known him, I can say I love Jonathan! That boy has more imagination, creativity, and energy than any person over the age of five that I've ever met. He has a spark of magic in him that cannot be replicated in just anybody. And, I bet part of the reason that spark is there is because of what he's been through. Even if we never talk again after ballroom class ends, I will be happy and proud to say that I knew someone that strong and brave and beautiful.

But I cannot forget two of my dearest who have been there every moment since I met them... Morgan and Chris. Chris, while callous and harsh in his opinions when I talk to him about my problems, is a sweet and gentle friend when I get sick. He never grows impatient or gets frustrated when I become difficult (believe me, a 140-something pound, 5' 10" girl is very difficult to handle when she can't stand on her own!) Chris carries on when I can't, and he has never treated me special or different. On the other hand, Morgan has been my special nutritionist trooper. He has taken me to special dietary appointments and held my hand when I can't hold open my eyes. He has loved and doted on me with lots of chocolate and peanut butter! He has been my inspiration to get better, to make sure I get sick less often. His patience and understanding has been invaluable to me, and it's what I love the most about him! To both of them, I am most thankful!

* * * *

This has been a very eye-opening experience. Since moving to Cullowhee, I have learned day by day how to efficiently care for myself and what does or does not work. There will still be moments when I crash. Realistically, there will always be moments when I crash throughout my life unless there is a cure for this "hypersensitivity" or whatever this is. I have also learned that the medical profession... they don't always have the answers. And sometimes, you have to come up with your own. As I try to move forward from my negative experience at the Health Center, I will always remember to trust in my own instincts. No one knows me like me.



100

Welcome to my 100th post for "Apartment 101." I am so excited to have reached this number!! Thank you to everyone who has followed this blog publicly and to everyone has been reading my strange thoughts, musings, happenings, and poking through my photography. Your comments, Likes on Facebook, and reads make my day!

To celebrate my 100th post, I decided it would be a good time to announce my grand news: as of yesterday morning, I was accepted to University of North Carolina - Greensboro!

I am beyond thrilled and excited to continue my college education at this university. While I am slightly saddened to be trading in my Catamount paws for a Spartan helmet, I cannot wait for the adventures that will unfold with my two pals Anna and Joe, and I will be so happy to be closer to the love of my life.

The greatest tragedy of this news is that I will have to say good bye to seeing Chris on a daily basis. Since meeting in freshman year, Chris became my immediate confidant and best friend. He was everything I needed all through freshman year and well into now my sophomore year. I only hope that our friendship will remain strong though we are apart and I will be able to see him on a semi-regular basis. Even though I am moving, I will not ignore or forget our great friendship and hope he feels the same. Though I will be busy with my junior year, a boyfriend, and adjusting to a new city, it is important to me to work on keeping our relationship as close as it is now.

I cannot and am already making plans for my big move to Greensboro!! Anna, Joe, I hope you're ready!!! Because Sparta and I... here we come!!!!