How to Celebrate Your Birthday in College

Dear Josh,

            Okay, so I realize you will never be in this situation considering your birthday is in the summer break range. However, I was thinking that if I told you the perfect way to celebrate your birthday weekend in college you could help out some of your friends. You know, the friends that don’t have a sister as cool as me writing them a tip-blog! Good idea, right? So, let the tip giving begin!

            I was a TON nervous about my birthday this year, Josh. I know it is kind of dumb to be nervous about your birthday, but I just knew it was going to suck. I don’t have family here, I have barely had time to make any friends, I’m in the middle of nowhere Kentucky, and lots of other things darkened the prospects of my birthday weekend. So, when the twenty-fifth came I was avoiding excitement. Let me tell you, I should have been pumping up my excitement quite a bit more. My 18th birthday weekend FAR exceeded my expectations. So, now I know how to make a birthday wonderful in college, and I can kindly share with you and your soon-to-be-college-buddies.

Step one: Wake up with your door decorated by three of your newest friends. Trust me, if the door has popcorn bags, signs about all the things you can do at age 18, and colored cardboard attached to it? Your day is off to a WONDERFUL start.

Step two: Give your wonderful grandparents a tour of all the best college spots to hang before going to lunch with Jonathan, Grandma Carol, and Grandpa John. Get an extra-complicated meal because it’s your birthday, laugh so hard, and talk until your voice is fleeting. Seeing family a few weeks into college adds an extra jolt to any day. 

Step three: Purchase a fish with your loving mother, well, don’t purchase the fish yet. Purchase an empty tank and hope to get a live fish in there shortly. While your at it you should train the entire tank of neon fish to follow your finger. If you can train them in less than a minute? They are worthy of that empty fish tank. 

The cake the softball team got for me and my birthday buddy!

Step four: Play Softball. Okay, so this could actually be taken out for most extra special birthdays, but just remember that on your birthday you are guaranteed to make at least one run! GO TEAM J

Step five: Go out to dinner with some goofy buddies and eat until you explode. (It's a bonus if they can't get the Applebee's people to sing to you). Then piece yourself back together for an intense movie night. You can stay up until 3 am, after all, it IS college.

            I also added an extra special date step to my birthday, but I’m not sure you could handle that step and I am therefore excluding it from the official steps. However, a trip to Patti’s Settlement with Jonathan did add that extra bit of smile (and full tummy) to my birthday weekend. And there you have it! How to get the perfect college birthday in 5 simple steps! There wasn’t any sex, drugs, or rock-n-roll, but we DID stay up until 3 am J J

This meal was delicious. Yes, there is bread...in a flower pot?

This is the first time we filled up on gas since we've been here. Can I get a woop woop?

Our reservation wasn't until 9 pm, so naturally we had to stop at a hick grocery store to grab some wings. Naturally.

Love,

Maddie the Birthday Girl

P.S. You also get a ton of awesome mail on your birthday! In college? Mail is awesome! 

Doesn't Smell, Look, or Act Like a Blog, but It's a Blog

Dear Josh,

            So, mom is making me write a blog, you know how that is, but I don’t know how to write a blog. I DO, however, know how to write a letter, and since you’re preparing to head this way in a few years I figure I can prep you. For one, I wish I had been prepped. I had ABSOLUTELY no idea that THIS is how the first week in college would be. No one tells you the sucky stuff, ya know? So, since I am SUCH A GREAT SISTER (J J J J J) I am going to go ahead and give you the heads up.

Sucky thing number one: The rooms are small. And gross feeling.  And have tiny beds that less coordinated people could possibly fall off of and bump their heads in the middle of the first night. And on top of that, you have to share with someone else. It’s quite the experience.

Sucky thing number two: You miss your family. And I’m not just talking think of them every once in awhile when you have to do your own laundry or go buy your own school supplies. I’m not kidding—I miss the “fam” ALL the time.

Sucky thing number three: EVERYTHING CHANGES. I know, I know. I should have known this going in, but you don’t understand! It’s true! Barely anything is the same! And, boy, is that scary!

Sucky thing number four: Making BEST friends is a lot of work. Note that it’s only the BEST part highlighted, because I have for sure met a lot of sweet and nice and funny people this week. I just happened to forget that it takes a while to develop that comfort that comes with BEST friends. I’m working on that though J

Alright, Alright. Did I freak you out yet? Well, I can’t say goodbye without telling you a few of the many good things, too. I arrived eleven days ago, and there have been quite a few highlights since I’ve been here. First of all, did you know that everywhere you go in college the first week there is FREE stuff!? It’s great! I’m talking free food, water bottles, coupons, ice cream (a separate category from food---it’s dessert), bags, flying discs, and more! I even won a 20 dollar gift card to one restaurant I’ve never been to, A 20 dollar gift card to culvers, and a 25 dollar gift card to the coffee shop on campus. It’s been awesome.

Also, the activities available---are endless! I’ve been to a different campus ministry event every night and all of them are amazing and enlightening. Campus ministries are like youth group, but EVERY SINGLE DAY THEY HAVE SOMETHING GOING ON J It’s great fun. Also, I’ve joined the intramural SOFTBALL TEAM!! Yes, they let girls like me on. I get to play second base, even though I didn’t catch any of the pop-fly balls thrown to me at practice. I did catch a few grounders though, be proud J One night they had a hypnotist come to campus which was SO SO SO funny. I highly recommend you finding some hypnotist show sometime because I laughed so hard the guy beside me had to stop and check that I was doing okay. Tomorrow Maya Angelou is even coming to speak! It will be awesome.

Another great thing is the schedule. I can basically do whatever I want to do, whenever I want to do it. I can go to the 24-hour Kroger and Walmart at 1 am on a school night, do homework right after class or right before class, or hang with friends watching movies till 3 am on the weekends. I do get A TON of homework, but mostly my classes are done by 1 on Tuesday and Thursdays and by 10 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Plus, I don’t even have to get up to head to class until 9! Ohhh Josh. You will love that part. I’m even up writing this at 1 am because I can’t sleep.

So, this first week at college has been a series of ups and downs, and it continues to be difficult. However, there are parts that I love, and I know God will get me through the couple of rough weeks before the good weeks start. I love you so much, Josh, and I hope you are doing well. I hope to hear from you on my birthday. It’s on Friday J

Love,

Maddie Mucci

7121 Regents College

Murray, KY 42071