The Students Are Back! I love it /hate it!

 

It’s not really Fall according to the calendar. But I live in Bloomington, Indiana and according to Indiana University… it’s Fall! Fall semester, that is.

I love/ hate the students coming back to town, let me tell you all about it!

-I LOVE quiet summer running where I don’t have to weave through crowds of people at bus stops that seem to be less than a block apart. Seriously kids, are you so lazy that you need a bus stop every half a block apart on the same road? Back in my day we WALKED to class! And do you really need to sprawl your crap out all over the sidewalks so that you can sit down because standing at the bus stop is simply too tiring? 

-I HATE how old these kids make me feel. I’m not old, logically I get that. But when you live in a town that perpetually has an influx of 18 year olds moving in, you feel old quickly. Take for instance the statements I just wrote, “back in my day we WALKED to class”. Really? I sound like I’m 75 years old! And I catch myself saying stuff like that ALL the time. You’ll read plenty of it as this post progresses. 

 

-I LOVE starting my runs as the IU Marching Band is practicing!!! There’s something about a good old fashioned marching band that just makes me smile. I love it! And lots of my Tuesday runs start right by their practice area. Just a few days ago I started a run/slog in 94 degree weather, the drummers were practicing and I couldn’t stop smiling. Even in the oven-like conditions I had a little pep in my step.

-I HATE kids wearing headphones/ texting/ reading while walking. SERIOUSLY! What is wrong with you kids? Have a little awareness of your surroundings! Just yesterday I watched three girls walk directly into oncoming traffic while texting. On the rare occasion when I run with headphones I only use one ear bud. You need to know if someone is coming up behind you, if a tree is going to fall on you, or if a rhinoceros is coming at you so that you can change your pace/route accordingly.

-I LOVE listening in on undergrad conversations! Oh my lord, talk about fake problems! I’ve heard them gripe about tanning, complain about “doing work” in classes, discuss hair and outfit problems. I mean seriously, if you need a reason not to wear headphones, this is it! Sure, they might think I’m crazy as I literally laugh out loud at them, but I’m having a blast hearing about their fake problems. This does not make me upset about being old, it makes me oh so very very grateful to be beyond that time in my life.

-I HATE the way those kids drive! What are they doing? Can they read signs? And where did they get these cars from?!?! No young twenty something needs to be driving a sporty BMW convertible. Get a sensible car or WALK for crap’s sake (oh my lord I’m a hundred years old).

-I LOVE observing the fashion choices. I’m not a zippy dresser at ALL. Most days, I just try to get out the door looking like I got dressed with my eyes open rather than closed. But man these kids today! I constantly find myself saying to people I’m with (or myself), really? Is that a thing? Like, why did you spend a boatload of money on a t-shirt that looks like it is 20 years old and is so thin that you have to wear another shirt under it? And honestly, who is walking around a campus (or waiting at the bus stop) in shoes like this?

 

Come on kid, you’re like 19 years old! Put on some tennis shoes and relax! You’ll have plenty of years to tighten / shorten your Achilles tendons and calves with those ridiculous high heels! 

So what am I reminded of every year when the students come back? I’m reminded of how much I love this town and those students are a big part of why this town is here. If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t have a lovely campus to run through.  Oh, and I wouldn’t have a job if it weren’t for them either.  In other words… GO HOOSIERS! And welcome to Fall semester!