We all know they said to bring a fan. They only wrote it in our packets about a 120 times. It’s not like we didn’t have any warning. But they didn’t tell us we would need three of them…or four…or a billion.
Did anyone else immediately hide their 20 pounds of bed sheets away in the closet? Yeah, we’re thinking we won’t need them this week. At all.
Walking into the building, you probably felt like a bit of a doofus tromping around with a suitcase, a backpack and, you probably guessed it, a fan while registering. Don’t worry, no one expected you to be Superman and have the ability to carry two lanyards, two keys, a swipe card, all your luggage and a partridge in a pear tree. It’s okay that you had to set it all down on the ground six or seven times.
The agony of finding your dorm room is no longer new to anyone at MIPA. We all understand it if you literally put the key in your door, had it turn, and still thought it was the wrong room. That’s why registration goes on for up to nearly three hours. You need about that much time to get settled in and ready for the opening.
By the time you arrived in your dorm room, probably sweating along the way, you most likely took an extra 45 minutes to figure out if you were allowed in the bathroom of the opposite sex. For future reference, the answer to that question is yes. We found out the hard way.
If you arrived early enough, and you aren’t too directionally challenged, you probably had some time to check out the campus. Just so you’re aware, there are ice cold drinking fountains on every floor. Somehow, we have a feeling you’ll want to check that out if you value your body’s heat level.
But all of that was made worth it at the opening. Workshop director Chad Sanders had absolutely no problem keeping the audience’s attention. Did anyone else feel like we were watching a stand-up comedian when we heard about drivers’ education? Because the people surrounding us could not stop laughing.
The game loosened things up as well. When hundreds of teenagers are sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for a balloon to pop, especially when that balloon has a microphone next to it patiently waiting to blow everyone’s ears out, it’s pretty suspenseful. Just when it seemed like we were going to avoid the deathly blow…Pop!
We screamed a little bit too, so don’t be embarrassed.
Here’s what some other journalists are saying about their MIPA first impressions…
On the dorm room:
“My room is bright purple. I have tons of stuffed animals and here there’s this brick wall and a mattress without a sheet, and I’m like, ‘I need to live here for five days? How to kids live here all year round?’ But then I put down my sheet and my pillows and now I’m kind of excited to go back there.”
-Jane Hess, Grosse Pointe South High School
“Small.”
-Daniel Malcolm, Wayne Memorial High School
“It wasn’t as small as I thought.”
-Shane Bagwell, Traverse City East Middle School
“Not a shocker.”
-Jordan Fisher, Traverse City East Middle School
On the popping of the balloon:
“It was scary.”
-Dayle Maas, Grosse Pointe North High School
“I screamed…I was really nervous because I thought it would be really loud.”
-Blair Paddock, Grosse Pointe South High School
And, well, everything else:
“I was excited.”
-Sydney Spring, Jackson High School
“When we got there the whole building looked like it would be cool to live in. The entrance and the archway and the stairs were really nice and the people were helpful. It was chaotic because there were a lot of people but it was really nice.”
-Sydney Keller, Grosse Pointe South High School
Cassie Bondie has written a column for The Upstart. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of The Upstart staff.
Well done, you made me feel like I was right there =)