The Bug Geek

Today was Good.  I accomplished everything I wanted to:

• student card
• stipend/TA payment paperwork
• lab and locker keys
• free photocopies
• free coffee (my classy labmates have fresh beans, a grinder and coffee press – love!)
• signed up for WHMIS training
• set up my laptop to access the campus VPN 
• toured the lab in which I’ll be TAing (skeletons! specimen jars! microscopes! petri dishes!  Glee!!!)
• wandered through buildings looking for People or Things That Might Be Useful
• met roughly eleventy-million admin-type people, all of whom were lovely and helpful when I randomly appeared in their offices saying “hi, what do YOU do?”  They provided useful information then sent me on my way with stuff: maps, checklists, names/emails of other People That Might Be Useful, and in one case, a really swanky stainless steel travel mug!  Woot! 
• attended my first orientation session – also useful

All good, productive stuff.

I found today…well, surreal for lack of a better term.  It was foreign and wonderfully familiar all at once.    The environment is a new one, but the soul of the place is something I know well, and it’s very comfortable.    It was like finding a really comfy sweatshirt I’d forgotten I owned in the back of the closet, slipping it on, and feeling like, “yeah, that’s nice”.    A good fit, if you will.

I also found myself frequently reflecting upon the marked difference between Me, The-30-Year-Old-Student-on-Her-First-Day-of-School and Me, The-19-Year-Old-Student-on-Her-First-Day-of-School.  

Me-19 was utterly terrified.   Completely out her comfort zone.  Avoided social events at all costs (only for the first couple of weeks, I got over it).  Barely spoke.   Hid in her dorm room.  Came across as either: a) a snob, or; b) a weirdo, depending who you asked.

Me-30, today, was confident, friendly, outgoing, chatting with lots of new people, asking questions, and generally having a fantastic time.  

The difference is profound, and wonderful.