Syllabus week blues, conversation cues

Well Richmonders, after a hot, long and often boring summer, we are finally back on the campus we know and love with all the people we know, love and Facebook stalk...

Now don't get me wrong, I look forward to seeing all of my friends just as much, if not more, than the average student. Nothing beats unpacking and sitting around talking about your summer romances, your crappy or outrageously cool summer job, and all the adventures that you went on without the bazillion pages of reading for class weighing you down like a needy boyfriend. That part of coming back to campus is the bees' knees, but coming back to school certainly has a momentary downfall.

Though the work load is minimal and partying is through the roof, syllabus week can also be one of the most socially draining weeks of the semester. Of course you have your besties with whom you feel like not a moment has passed as you sit down for your first Libbie Market date, but since Richmond is such a tiny school you also have various circles of more casual and situational friends that you're not actually that close to, but you are still forced by the social intimacy of our campus to hug all excitedly and have the requisite "meeting again after three months apart convo."

You know what I'm talking about, the "hey! OMG it's so great to see you!!! What did you do this summer? OOO that sounds so cool! I interned too! It's so great to be back! Stop by the apartment if you get a chance, I'd love to catch up!" conversation. Yes, you all know it and do it well.

The back-to-school conversation is so rehearsed that it seems to spew out of your mouth before you even know what hit you.

Word vomit, my friends. Better for your esophagus than legit vom, but still a relatively painful experience when you have to do it over and over and over and over and over again. You do it at Target, Martin's, Moe's, Jimmy John's, Libby, on your way to the dumpster and at the storage unit. To make matters worse, you rarely get to do it when you're freshly showered and wearing a normal outfit -- it's always when you're in your sweaty, frumpy, move-in outfit and the person you're talking to looks super put together.

Really, you want everyone to see how much your summer workout regimen paid off, and how good you look with your post-beach tan and reduced drinking schedule, but all they see is you in your baseball cap struggling to lug an under-the-bed Tupperware thing from Target with the deodorant all balled up under your armpits clearly visible in your sorority beach week tank.

Alas, despite the relative embarrassment of being consistently spotted looking like a hot mess for two to three days straight depending on how proactive you are about getting all of your things moved in and unpacked, your posters put up and your trips to Target taken care of, coming back to Richmond is something I've been looking forward to all summer.

Though living at home, working at J. Crew and interning at a magazine saved me some money, greatly enhanced my cardigan collection and made me a master at balancing several coffee cups and kissing plenty of butt, nothing beats coming back to Richmond for my final year of college. I cannot wait to get coffee at 8:15 (five times a day), buy Richmond gear at the bookstore and put it on my Spider Card so it doesn't feel like I'm spending any money, order Chanello's at 1 in the morning, drive my roommates crazy, and frump around the apartment on the reg.

Anywho, besides yet another pointless ramble from me, I just want to say, welcome back everyone! Senior year is upon us, so pull out those Richmond bucket lists and get started! Or, if you've been more concerned during the last three years with passing school and getting involved in extracurriculars than with writing a list of all the absurd things you want to do before you graduate, you're a bit behind, so put down the paper and carpe diem (and if seizing the day involves proposing to me, so be it... who am I to stand in the way of your carpe-ing?).