"You know you go to Armstrong when..."

Over the period of time I have been at Armstrong(semester and a half), I have noticed several things that make it so unique: If these things suddenly occur, you should know exactly where you are!

1. Golf carts are an issue. When Haley has arisen from the dead at about 8:00 AM and is repeatedly being tapped at the ankles by golf carts wanting to get past her, hell wants to break loose. Along the sidewalk is grass, which IS dead considering the time of the year. I just truly wish they would find/construct a new trail for those arrogant golf cart drivers, who are also the ones NOT offering Haley a ride to class.

2. One thing I absolutely love about this campus are the huge water fountains. They make campus so pretty and during summer, there is a problem. Walking past them, it never fails that they are each over flowing with soap suds. I thought I attended a college full of studious, mature adults-- my thought process was obviously off somewhere.

3. Everyone has heard of the "freshman 15" correct? Okay, well my roommate and I were walking back from the gym one day and took a look to the right at our wonderful cafeteria on campus and both had the immediate look of disgust on our faces before bursting into laughter. We think it is quite odd how both of us have lost weight instead of gaining weight. Every night before we take our trip to the "caf", we sit around and try to guess what they might have in store for us this time. Last time was stale pita chips with expired ketchup, along with my turkey wrap with browned lettuce, and cold soggy french fries. Maybe tonight there will be some crab legs...filet mignon? Shrimp scampi? I'd be happy with just some fresh ranch. Let's go check it out!! Disappointment has struck yet again. I like stick to my infamous Ramen noodles...

4. I WILL be broke by the time this year is over. I tend to sometimes be a little forgetful but don't we all? As I'm getting caught up in my laundry, I forget that as I walk out to throw a load in the washer-- our doors to our rooms automatically lock! Well I'm thinking I don't need my card to pay for FREE laundry so I can live without my keys.. Well upon my arrival back to my room, I then realize that I am empty-handed besides the laundry bag & detergent I have in my hand. I take a moment to breathe deeply and once again, take a trip to the front desk to let them know I will be paying another $20 to be let back into my room. Can we say buzz kill from the episode of Bachelor I was missing....?

5. You also know you are definitely at AASU when you are finally attempting to go to sleep after writing 2 essays as 1 AM rolls around and all you hear is the gymnastics practice going on upstairs and the gospel singers down the hall from you. Heaven forbid you say anything or knock on the wall like I have been known to do because the noise level only increases. I have now learned how to professionally sleep with the covers OVER my head.

6. Fortunately for Amanda and I, we are at the end of the hall and have an exit door right outside of ours. It is quite convenient when you are late to class and just really need to rush to get there as soon as possible, especially early in the morning. Well, as I make my approach to open the door, I am not only deafened completely by the blaring siren that goes off if the door is open for more than 3 seconds but I am wide awake and ready for the day to begin... 

7. You would think that on the weekends, the air outside on campus would be filled with scents of a party. Typical right? Cigarette smoke, liquor, food, maybe some vomit? Perfectly fine with me except for the last one, of course, but I get taken by surprise every morning when I walk out with my eyes half open and immediately realize that all I smell are Black 'N Milds. Armstrong is more than famous for these things. I have never seen so many in my life.. wrappers are everywhere, the ends are everywhere I step, and it is literally ALL I ever smell. Everywhere I look, someone is smoking one! Not what I expect that early in the morning but hey, whatever gets you movin' I guess right?!

8. If there is one thing I put off more than anything, it's laundry! Doing laundry here in the freshman building is like doing 1,000 chemistry problems for me--maybe not QUITE as bad but you get the idea. Going into the laundry room smells like someone just had a huge accident in one of the washers. Once I'm over that, I go over to a washer, sort my colors, and go to pour my detergent. As I try and open the little drawer it goes in, the handle pops right off. Of course, getting frustrated, I just simply move onto the next one. SAME thing occurs. Well, if you don't know me well enough and I'm sorry if you do.. it doesn't take much to get my blood pressure to quickly rise. I try to calmly figure out a way to open the drawer but always end up jerking it fiercely to get it open.. This just makes it unbelievably frustrating only because this building IS brand new. We are the very first class to live here so I am curious as to why in the world they are ALL already broken.

9. I am a southern girl that was raised to be polite and treat others as I would like to be treated. That being said, whenever I leave class, leave my building, leave the library, etc., I hold the door for people coming out behind me. Thinking I am doing the right thing, it appears to me that I am wrong. Everytime I hold the door or help someone pick something up, I am looked at like I have just ruined their whole entire day. I am still confused as to why people here are so different from back in Canton but I guess some things aren't just the same here in Savannah! I have learned to not make such a huge effort to hold the door open for 5 extra seconds...

10. The other day, my roommate had the best day of her entire life. Let me start out by saying the parking here at Armstrong was designed by a total moron. I think it was sometime last week, Amanda and I walk out to make a run to... Taco Bell I'm assuming. She notices that the FRONT & CENTER parallel parking spot is VACANT! She looks at me with the "let's book it" expression on her face, so we start sprinting to where her car is, get in, race it over to the parking spot and take 25 minutes to parallel park it. I look at her in curiosity/panic as to how I am getting my dinner.. she calls a friend, YES this happened, to come out and drive us to Taco Bell. I'm tellin you what.. this parking spot is slighty a big deal. She's still talking about it...

11. While living in Savannah, I have learned that it isn't the safest place you can be. Driving to a friend's party one night we look over and see investigation tape wrapped around the whole front porch of a house on the right side of the road. We didn't really think too much of it until later on in the week, we find out that 2 dead bodies were found in the house and that gun shots were a common noise in Savannah over this past summer. Here I am freaking out, while others who have lived here longer than I have act like it's a normal, typical thing that happens all the time. Well considering that this house is right around the corner from my side of campus, it all makes me a little uneasy. Guess it's a good thing our building has bullet proof windows?

12. CATS, CATS, and more CATS! Apparently, one day a van stopped by campus one day and let out a load of cats onto our streets of Armstrong. I will have to say there had to have been at least 85 cats in that van because it is not a normal day unless I see at least 6 cats on my way to each class. I walk by every other car and see a black cat snoozin on top of each one! 

13. It's comforting to know that our money is going to these new speed bumps that cause my head to hit the roof every time they're driven over. These speed bumps are now being connected to a trail/sidewalk that is being built around the school for those who like to go for walks/runs. Talking about this trail one day, someone decides to inform me that a man has recently been caught sitting somewhere on the trail waiting for girls with headphones in to come running around the corner so he can run up behind her. It happened just the other week; she, of course, did not hear him because of her music and sure enough he went up behind her back and quickly grabbed her. She has been found and he has been caught but that doesn't mean my mind is at ease in the least!

These are just some things that make Armstrong, ARMSTRONG. Some good, some bad-- but all in all, it can be quite interesting and you never know what you're gonna get here at AASU!