First Things First :: Link Up!

It's been a tough couple of weeks.   I've had some MAJOR bloggers block and I blame it on how busy I've been.   I've been on a mission for a couple of days now to find some new and exciting link ups to participate in.   It's not so much that I can't find any awesome link ups.   More like there are SO many awesome link ups.   I can't decide.   But I stumbled onto one today through Veronica at Passion, Pink & Pearls that I just had to participate  in.  It's short, simple and super fun!
It's hosted by Halie at Penguins, Pasta & Polka Dots and co-hosted this week by Veronica and Jess at Jess is More.  I had never seen either Halie or Jess's blog until today when I came across the link up on Veronica's blog.  But that's one of the things I love the most about blogging.  You're always connecting with new people and making new friends.  There's always something new to find and you never know what surprise is coming your way next!

Here's the deal with First Things First...

each week Halie will give a new set of three firsts for us to talk about.  This week's firsts are

one. First roommate(s)

two. First time living away from home

three. First dorm room

So here are my firsts!!

First Roommate (s)

I met my first roommates when I went off to college.  To be honest, that was not a fun time for me to remember.  Not because of my roommates.  They were awesome.  But because I quickly found out that a college three hours from home was not where I was meant to be.  My first semester of freshman year was awful but my roommates were seriously the only things that got me through it.  I ended up in a dorm room that was considered a 'quad' which basically meant that they gave us an extra big room and stuck four girls in it instead of two.  

Two of my roommates, Erin and Alison were absolutely amazing.  Again, the ONLY thing that got me through that semester.  Our fourth roommate pretty much did her own thing.  She had other friends so we didn't really hang out all that much.  

We were pretty typical college freshmen.  You know, 2 am trips to Dunkin Donuts, movie nights, the usual college stuff (minus the drunken parties every weekend). That really wasn't our scene.  I loved my roommates so much that when I made the decision to transfer after that first semester I was scared to tell them.  I didn't want them to be angry!!  But they understood completely and when I got to Marist - where I finished out the remainder of my college career in absolute bliss - I knew it was the 100% right decision for me.  

Man, all this reminiscing really makes me miss those guys.

First Time Living Away From Home

Again, this would be as a college freshman.  As I said before that was a really tough time for me.  I'm a homebody.  I was (still am) really attached to my hometown, my family was (still is) my life, I missed my dog, I had just started to feel like I made the perfect group of friends and BAM, I have to go off to college.  

Change is not my strong point.  In fact it tends to send me into anxiety ridden panic attacks.  It's not a fun time for me or for anyone within earshot of me.  On top of it, I was attending an agricultural school where nearly everyone went home to work on their family farms every weekend.  So I ended up driving the three hours back to CT every weekend.  

It's fine.  If I had never spent that semester in PA I would never have know if Marist was truly the right choice for me.  Don't get me wrong.  I would have loved Marist either way but going to Delaware Valley first made me appreciate it even more.

First Dorm Room

Sadly, I have no pictures of my first dorm room.  Again, I wasn't in the happiest state of mind so pictures really weren't top priority for me.  When I went to Marist, housing was tight.  I had to live off campus for the first year but luckily I had an awesome group of friends that made me an honorary suite-mate.  I lived in the common room of their 6 person suite on an extra bed.  I'm actually not sure where we got that extra bed but it was perfect for me to crash on when we were out late or we had 8 am classes the next morning!

So that's my first ever First Things First!  Hope you guys enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed reminiscing! Thanks Halie for an awesome link up!