The leap Qff campus

It is a leap that everyone will have to doin the fut u r e Whether it is at the end of your four years here at Cabrini or before, you will "' eventually move off campus. You will be part of the many college students or graduates moving onto that lovely thing called an apartment. Whether it is a one bathroom or two it still equals the same thing, a feeling of even more freedom.

This year I took the big leap off campus into a two-bedroom apartment splitting the rent with a roommate. I have to tell you at first I was nervous but as soon as I opened the door on move in day I was ecstatic. I could not believe I had a place of my own. And wait, I even had my own oven and refrigerator. But the best thing of all is no more clocking my guests in and out.

6 Sure this all sounds good especially to the person living in a triple in Woodcrest, but let me tell you that my bubble of excitement was popped euickly when during the first week the toilet in one of the bathrooms decided

Prepared for the real world

to spit its water all over the floor and into the hallway. That bubble also again the first time I went to the store and spent over 100 dollars. Then I started thinking did I make the right decision? I mean things just kept happening and we still had not even received the first cable, electric or phone bill.

Then of course I called the wisest person I know yes, my mom. It is funny because she was also the first person I called to tell that yes, people actually do wear flip-flops in the shower at Woodcrest during my first week at Cabrini. I simply started freaking out on the phone. Of course my mom told me not to worry. "Everything will be fine," she said. Then I hung up the phone, looked around, took a deep breath and screamed. I cannot believe it, I have my own place.

The moral of the story is things did not go completely as planned that first week but now it has been just four weeks and things are great. The toilet is fixed and I realized that all my bills would be split in half because two people are living here. The leap off campus for me was the rig_htdecision. I am not kicking myself yet. My-advice to my fellow students at Cabrini is to think before you take the big leap, make sure living off campus is indeed right for you.

Jt· is 4:30 a.m. Aside from passing trains and howling cats, the streets are quiet and will remain that way for about three more hours.

p.m. My routine resumes that next morning again at 4:30 a.m.

This routine would not be particularly appealing to most people, and certainly not to several jobless resident students who have the convenience of rolling right out of bed, right to class, and then right back into their beds.

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Sbarvon Urbannavage staff writer

At 4:30 a.m., this silence is broken by the agonizing sound of my alarm clock buzzer abruptly snatching me from my sleep. I make a desperate attempt to drag me exhausted body out of my bed so that I can get showed, get dressed, and get to work by 6 a.m. This scene is repeated each weekday morning.

If you get ·the idea that this routine is not pleasing to me, strangely enough, I actually do not mind the early morning schedule.

My marathon day begins with working 5 or 6 hours for a company in Sharon Hill as a data entry operator (a.k.a. extremely boring job). Next, a 30 minute commute up 1-95 and the Blue Route, provided that weather conditions and moronic drivers do not become added obstacles. I arrive at Cabrini College for three hours of classes, designed to educate, elevate, and stimulate me in spite of my suffering from the effects of sleep deprivation. I then make that 30-rninute commute once again back to Sharon Hill.

Once I run errands, eat dinner, do homework, and prepare my wardrobes for both work and school, I finally lay my exhausted body to rest each night sometime around l 0: 30

Looking for the positive side in every experience I encounter, I have come to realize that even though I may be missing out on the luxury of sleeping more than six ·hours a day, my schedule is actually preparing me for adulthood, which is rapidly approaching, just four short semesters away.

Kindergarten prepares us for elementary school, which then prepares us for junior high, which prepares us for high school, which in turn prepares us for college, which is suppose to prepare us for "REAL LIFE." Theoretically, is this not what college is suppose to be about???

A large number of college students are accustomed to having their parents provide for them, assist them, and rescue them from any dilemmas that may occur. These students will not be prepared for the hectic responsibilities of adulthood.

When the harsh reality of the adult world hits those students, I encourage them to seek solace in the memory of their carefree days. For those who share my experience, we will be well prepared to cope with the stress of work, bills, traffic, and all other stress- causing tasks that we all eventually will have to experience.

What is your reaction to the terrorism?

sophomore undeclared major