There were plenty of little shockers in store for me that weekend: the fireplaces in the Wigglesworth common rooms I visited; the rumor of a swimming pool in Adams House; the guy I saw leaving one of my hosts' bedroom one morning. (Did people...do that? Here?)
Another misconception I had was that the people I met during pre-frosh weekend would be my best friends during college and beyond. Someday, they would be the godparents of my children. They would help me with my homework. We'd have long chats by those Wigglesworth common room fireplaces.
Wrong!
That's actually too harsh. I think there are some of you out there who did make lasting connections during those four incredible days. And that's very nice.
Let me just run down a short list of people I met, a kind of "Where Are They Now" thing. Humor me; it won't take long because I didn't meet that many people.
That guy in the Coop. I think he lives in the Quad somewhere.
The friendly girl in English 10b. I was sitting expectantly in a Sever classroom, waiting with a lot of other pre-frosh for lecture to begin. We sat and sat. I talked to this girl for a few minutes about how much it sucked to carry around the red folders that branded you as a clueless pre-frosh.
We continued to sit. When we'd been sitting there for half an hour, a woman came in and informed us that English 10b did not meet on Fridays.
Now I'm in English 70 with that girl. It doesn't meet on Fridays, either. And we're still kind of clueless.
My co-pre-frosh, the one who's good at math. She lived in the Quad last year. Then this year she transferred to Dunster House, where I live.
Our host. She graduated, then got married. Married. I wonder if my co-pre-frosh knows.
One of those girls I sat with at Pizzeria Uno's. I think she's on the UC. And of course, she lives in the Quad.
The guy I met at Princeton's pre-frosh days (which followed Harvard's), who had also been at Harvard and was absolutely sure he preferred Harvard. Sure enough, he's here.
The girl who came up to me at the Ice Cream Bash and, after I introduced myself, exclaimed, "Wow! I've never met anyone from Nebraska before!" She's one of my roommates. She's on The Crimson, too. Last night it wasn't her turn to do the editorial page. That's too bad, because I don't know if Joanna's ever edited anyone from Nebraska before.