KILROY: Back to the start

I think I’m living my college experience backwards—if that’s possible. What I mean is, I am acting more like a freshman these days than I ever was as, well, a freshman.

Let’s review.

1. I can no longer swipe into my dorm. I used to have this arrogant little flourish I did every time I swiped my card. The habit developed the second week of my freshman year when I realized that I was much more successful at swiping in than everyone around me—really, it’s not that hard. But something happened this year. I’ve lost my flourish. Every time I step up to the Myles security desk, there’s a tapping of feet and collective sigh from the 10 or so kids behind me. Literally, crossing the threshold of Myles is now a two-minute operation. It doesn’t matter that I swipe my card like all the other kids – with my picture facing me. Even brushing the card off on my pants doesn’t help. The security guard still has to remove my ID from my clenched fist and swipe in for me. Apparently our daily encounters have had no impact on him because he still turns to me and asks me, “Do you live in this dorm, dear?” My response: “Yes, don’t you remember me? I am the girl who causes a traffic jam in your hallway every morning, afternoon, and evening.” Okay, so maybe I don’t say that. Maybe all I really do is mumble “Yes,” and hand over my card so he can swipe in for me, because frankly, after two minutes of foot tapping and sighing, I’m done. I am so done. I’m a sophomore, and if you didn’t know better, you’d think I was a freshman.

2.  FitRec. Why as a sophomore am I going to FitRec now more than ever? Getting Fit Recked is an experience that should occur your freshman year and happen less and less over the ensuing years. This semester I go to the gym five times a week. According to the laws of the universe, an upperclassman shouldn’t be found there more than three times a week. Heck, at this point I should be taking the BU Shuttle there and back. Walking? To FitRec? Who do I think I am? A freshman?

3. Meals. How is it that I cannot budget my meals anymore? Freshman year I had a healthy number of meals and dining points left at the end of the year. Now I find myself eating through my guest meals (good thing I’ve never brought a guest to my dining hall) and purchasing additional dining points halfway through the year. One explanation: I’m eating breakfast—a habit like FitRec that should occur less and less over your college years. I mean, freshman year the only breakfast food that I consumed was the Lucky Charms cereal that sat in the dining hall until 9 p.m. Now, as a sophomore I’m choosing to wake up 30 minutes early to bury my face in my waffle as opposed to my bed pillow.

4. Laundry. Where do I start? Freshman year I never once encountered a problem with my laundry. God, was I lucky. Even living in Warren, one of the most populated dorms, I always managed to acquire a machine on the first try. But somehow, living in Myles, encountering an empty machine is the same as spotting the golden snitch. And that’s not the only problem. Somehow, I always manage to choose the washing machine that gets my clothes too wet, followed by a dryer that never gets my clothes dry. Two drying cycles in and my clothes are still damp as ever. Frankly, I dread laundry day not because I’m so lazy that I can’t bring myself to do it, but because afterwards, my room looks like it was burglarized. Imagine: pounds of laundry drying from every hook, every corner. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. I’m a sophomore. I’m supposed to remove my fully dried clothes from the dryer, stuff them in my laundry bag, and let them sit there for a week. But no. I have to hang them all over my room where they eventually become such a nuisance that I am forced to put them away.

By the looks of it, I, Meaghan Kilroy, I am the freshman that I never was. The first-year who can’t swipe herself into her dorm, skip the gym like she’s supposed to,  use her meal plan successfully and do her laundry. I’m very interested to see how the rest of my college years play out. I can’t imagine how things could get any more backwards from here. I take that back. Things have been backwards from the start. Half of my Midwestern family and friends think I attend BC.

Meaghan Kilroy is a sophomore in the College of Communication and a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. She can be reached at  kilroymeg@hotmail.com