Disclaimer: I completely understand that having a car on campus is a privilege. I also begrudgingly accept that I’m a first-year and therefore don’t have the right to halfway decent parking yet.

Since we are now three months into the school year, I think I can officially say that I know my way around this campus.  I know Monday at 7:10 A.M. is a great time to do laundry. I also know that the walk to food looks less and less like a necessity the colder it gets. Most importantly, I know that the 23.5-minute trek from the South #3 parking lot to the Freshman Quad is just short of criminal

I begin this walk as I do every walk…full of hope. Without fail, it just happens to start raining a bit, but I convince myself I’m enjoying it for the aesthetic. With the KAC on one side and the promise of Peirce on the other, I’m confident. I’m optimistic –  I’m both Elizabeth Bennet and Jo March taking a main-character life-altering stroll–  aaand I unfortunately just noticed how steep the hill is getting and how the rain is changing from a romantic sprinkle to an aggressive downpour.

Here I am, trying to control my labored panting as I pass an athlete assertively swaggering down the hill. That “hope” I mentioned? Gone. Was my trip to Walmart even worth it? Do I even like the $5 sweater I bought, or did I just want to fill the empty void in my heart? Is my life falling apart, or am I just hungry from the literal workout I’m enduring?

Alas, there’s Wiggins emerging on the horizon! What a joyous sight!Perhaps, the treacherous journey across the vast wasteland of cornfields was not for nothing, I think as I excite myself with the prospect of iced coffee. Now there’s a new pep in my step. I can take on this hill! I’m going to make it to Thanksgiving break! You know what? I may even make it to graduation… Someday! I’m finally there, approaching the door and squinting through my rain-smeared glasses. Hope is not lost! Welp, nevermind, the Closed sign over the door mocks me from above, and I fall to my knees in the puddle of rain pooling on the sidewalk. I scream, “Nooooooo!” and melt right into that puddle.