I stepped into the terminal and looked around; then took a deep breath and thought, 'Well, this state will be my home for the next four years.' I went to get my luggage (all four bags!), and managed to grab them all, and drag them to the door of the airport. Stepping outside, I felt as if I was instantly in a sauna. 'My god! Is it going to be this hot all the time? I sure hoped not; I might die from heat stroke before my first day is over!' Ok, so I realize that I haven't really given you a lot of details about where I lived, and where I'm going to college. Hey, don't start complaining; I told you I don't think when I'm flying. So I'm from a little town in Michigan, and I have now landed in hell, A.K.A. Oklahoma, or at least it's hot enough to be hell. I know what you are probably thinking - Oklahoma? Really? Yes, really! I had a scholarship offer that I couldn't refuse: tuition, fees, books, dorm and meals, and a stipend of $300 a month. Nowhere else that I applied to came close, and with two brothers and three sisters, three of which are still in high school, I thought that accepting the scholarship would help my parents a lot (not that they ever mention anything about money); they don't even want me to go to school so far away. I know it's kind of funny that I want to come out in a conservative state, and a state that is part of "the bible belt," but I'll just have to see how open-minded people are. I want to be out, but not like "Hi, my name is Josh, and I'm gay!" I just want to learn how to be comfortable being me. I don't want to lie, but I don't want to tell everyone I meet. Anyway, back to stepping out into a sauna! The university had arranged a ride from the airport to the university, which is about an hour away. I quickly found my ride, and introduced myself to the driver. "Hi. I'm Josh Williams, and I think you are here for me," I said. "Yes, I'm here to pick you up. I'm Rick," he said. "So what's your major?" Rick asks "I'm not sure, but I'm thinking that I might choose education. I like the idea of being a teacher, and I think I could probably be a better teacher than the teachers I had during high school," I answered. "Hey, if that's what you want to do, that's cool. Good luck to you. I don't know if I could deal with a bunch of teenagers, much less try to teach them something," he said. We made some more small talk and, before I know it, we were there! "Welcome to Southwestern Oklahoma State University or SWOSU," Rick announced. I looked around, and realized that I like it. It isn't huge, by some university standards, but certainly not small, and I knew that I would probably learn my way around quickly. I got my bags, which Rick quickly offered to help me carry, and we made our way to Rogers Hall, with Rick carrying half my bags. I couldn't believe how many people were waiting to be given their room assignments. It was crazy, and the poor people handing them out looked stressed. When it was my turn, I stepped forward. "Name?" the person asked. "Josh Williams," I replied. "Your room is number 115, and your roommate is Justin Myers. Here is your key. There is a meeting in the common area at 7:30 tonight, and attendance is mandatory," he replied. I quickly got out of the way, and found the stairs. It was only one floor up, so I decided I'm not too lazy to go up one flight of stairs. I found my room, and used the key to unlock it. Stepping inside, I took my first look around at my new home; it was small, I mean very small! My first thought was 'man, if I were to lay on my bed and my roommate on his bed, we could reach out and touch each other.' There were two beds, desks, closets and chest of drawers. Overall, I could handle living here; I just hoped that if my roommate is straight, that he is ugly, because I didn't know what I'd do if he was straight and hot. Since my roommate hadn't arrived yet, I quickly chose which side of the room I wanted, and set my stuff down. After such a long day, I realized that I was hungry. So I grabbed my keys and wallet, and left in search of some food. I headed to the student union where there are various restaurants, along with the cafeteria, realizing that I had no idea where the student union is. I took out my map, thinking, 'Well, this puts a target on me that says confused freshman.' I quickly found the student union, and went inside. 'Well', I thought, 'lets see - pizza, burgers, Mexican, Chinese, or cafeteria? Choosing pizza, I found a table to sit at. Sitting there eating my pizza, I people watched, This guy caught my eye; I don't know what it was, but it was like I was drawn to him. Something about him made me want to just go over there and hug him, or something; he looked like he had lost his best friend. I realized that I'd probably been staring at him for far too long, when he looked up, catching me. I quickly looked back down at my now empty plate, and I couldn't help blushing at being caught. I looked back up at him, and, this time, he looked up to meet my eyes at the same time. The look of sadness radiating from his eyes actually choked me up, and I tried to give him an encouraging smile; he smiled back weakly, and went back to playing with his food. Sighing, I got up and threw my trash in the trashcan, and left the student union. Why didn't I try to talk to him? If nothing else, he seemed like he could really use a friend, and, to tell the truth, I could, too, because I certainly didn't know anybody here. I decided then and there that if I ever saw him again, I will approach him and try to get to know him. It had started cooling down, and it was still a couple of hours before I needed to be at the dorm meeting, so I decided that I'd wander around the campus a little bit. Looking at all the buildings, I suddenly felt a little overwhelmed, and it started sinking in that I'm a long way from home, and, more importantly, my family, and I realized how much they truly do mean to me. I took out my cell phone, to call home. It rang only once. "Josh?" Mom answered. I couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, Mom; it's me. How did you know?" "Oh, honey, how was your flight? Was it Okay? Are you Okay? Where are you now? Are you at the university?" I laughed again. "Mom, I'm fine; the flight was fine; and I'm at the university. I just wanted to call you to tell you I got here, and to tell you that I'm going to miss all of you." "Well, it's not too late to change your mind. You know you can always go to the University of Michigan," Mom said. "No, Mom; I want to go here. I'll be fine. I want to do this, but that doesn't mean I won't miss my family." She sighs and said, "I know, I know. You want to be more independent. That doesn't mean I have to like it that you are so far away from me." "Okay. Well, mom, I have to get back to the dorm for a meeting, but I'll call you again soon," I said. "You better call me, or I'll get on a plane and hunt your ass down!" my mom said, chuckling. "Yeah, I know you would. Love you." "Love you, too, sweetie." I headed back to the doom and realized I still had thirty minutes until the meeting, so I decided to go up to my room and change. I unlocked the door and stepped inside, and the first thing I saw was a very tall guy, faced away from me. When he heard me come in, he turned around. Well, there went my wish that my roommate was ugly; this guy is gorgeous! He is probably 6'2", and I could tell he works out. He smiled and said, "Hi, my name is Justin; you must be Josh." I realized I'm just staring, and finally get myself under control enough to say, "Yeah, that's me." "Well, I'm heading down to the common room for the meeting; you coming?" he asked. "Umm, yeah; I'll walk down with you," I replied. Completely forgetting that I wanted to change, I followed him down for the meeting, thinking about how hard it was going to be to control myself. This was either going to be an interesting semester, or a disaster. |