Let me get this out in the open. Yes, I am from Minnesota originally. And yes, I went to North Dakota for my first two years of undergrad (I know, I know. Sioux’s a girl’s name).
But give me some credit, I bleed Green and Gold like all the other Packer fans here, and I chose Wisconsin. Two years late, maybe. But I still chose to come to your school. So get off my back.
Are we cool now? Good.
So I’ve been here for about three full months, or about 90 days (3 x 30 = 90, thanks, NoDak education). I broke out of my shell, and have been running loose and shell-less since August. I have heard all the wonderful, scary things about this university. I have heard how much people here drink. But most impressively, I have figured out how smart you people are.
While trying to match everyone’s intelligence level, BAC and everything in between, it is my goal—my determination—to cram what you lucky ducks experience in four years here into just two. I want everyone to love me, and I expect my liver and my brain to hate me.
So I’ve put myself in what I like to call “Badger Boot Camp.” A-ten-hut!
“Yes, sir, taking the beer bong, sir!”
Drill number one was the oddest for me. I got here before classes started, and you people like to celebrate something called “welcome week.” All I can say is if I am ever going to be welcomed like that again, I swear on oath to never leave. Good lord. The lone wolf I know here deemed it appropriate to wake me up at 8:30 a.m. to drink. His reason? “Because.” I can still taste the morning, and it isn’t good.
“Yes, sir, giving you a quarter, sir!”
Drill number two got easier. Many people have hobbies—as do I. Some like to roller blade, some like to cross-stitch mittens and others enjoy hiking. Me? I am a class-A certified people watcher. People here are weirder than they are in Grand Forks. I live in The Towers on State Street (again, to clarify, I’m from the Midwest and therefore not a coastie). I just live there. It is a new journey each time I walk home. A homeless person in North Dakota was a student who passed out in the highway and physically could not make it home. A homeless person here is a person who tells me I have a nice butt and asks me for three dollars in quarters.
“Yes, sir, pulling an all-nighter, sir!”
Drill three is the hardest, but for some reason, the most enjoyable. As stated, you people are smart. At North Dakota, I felt like Ken Jennings. Now that I’m here, you all look like Watson. I can honestly say I have studied more so far this semester than my previous two years as a Sioux combined. It took a couple of, umm…uhh…not-so-stellar performances on my calculus and economics exams to realize I was in for a challenge.
But like any proud soldier, I stared the enemy in the eye and started battling through. Do I enjoy feeling overwhelmed by not understanding a word of what my professors say? Hell no. Do I enjoy studying for four hours for a five-minute quiz? Obviously not. But do I enjoy succeeding and actually feeling like I’m taking something away from this boot camp besides a damaged liver and less loose change in my pocket? Absolutely. I finally understand what all the buzz is about studying. You know what? It actually works. I’m smarter now that I’m here.
“Yes, sir, not giving up, sir!”
I am only a few months (90 days, remember?) into my new journey. I miss my friends every day from home, but strive to make new ones here. I miss Bud Light, but I’m trying to gut down as much Miller Lite as Wisconsinites do. I miss being the smartest on campus, but I yearn to be Watson like everyone else.
I’m here for a reason, and I can guarantee I will make the most of it.
New to the campus like Kristen and in need of your own badger boot camp training? Interested in training her yourself? Shoot her an e-mail her at kghibbard@wisc.edu and get drillin’ soldier.
