And So It Begins

Here I am, staring down my last few hours of freedom before classes begin. Like an adolescent, I'm secretly hoping that the flood warning we're currently under continues through the morning, resulting in cancelled classes. Postponing reality, however, will do me no good. And I should act more like a mature adult, right?

I feel as though there's one item of business I must take care of before the semester begins: introducing you to some of my peers in my cohort. They are quite a bunch, and I'm sure much of my posts from here on out will refer to them. Have no fear, they know I have a blog, and I've promised them some anonymity. To construct this anonymity, I've begun creating nicknames for each of them, so you won't really know who they are (unless you're one of them), but I'm sure you'll grow to love them just as I have in the five (or so) short days we've known each other.

IDF (Israeli Defense Forces), Minor League, and Bulgarian Radio were the first classmates I met, and they've proven good companions thus far, suffering through the various workshops, sessions, and orientations involved with the role of first-year TA. Another TA, whom I met later, goes by many names, as he's from China, and no one can seem to pronounce his name. He's asked us to call him Stephanie and Bob, among many others, so far this week. For now, I'm going to call him Texarchina (teks-arch-eye-nuh; you know, like Texarkana - he's from China and went to school at Texas-Austin), but I feel like I can come up with something better, as he's quite a lively individual. Stay tuned on that one.

In the last twenty-four hours, I've had the fortune of getting to spend time with a few others, which has helped to create a few more nicknames. One has a very James Dean vibe and James Franco looks. The name that seems most appropriate for him, though, is Pineapple Express. Appalachian Advocate is a potential future roommate of mine, and she graduated with Pineapple Express last year. App Ad may get a new nickname in the future, as I learn more about her, but after tonight's dinner conversation, she's App Ad. Still working on a good name for R&B, so she's R&B for now. For my HOBY people out there (or those who have done True Colors personality testing using the colors gold, orange, green, and blue), I think R&B's a blue. And for those of you who know me and my color, you know I'm a super blue. Let the lovefest begin.

Oh, and let's not forget about The Cool Married One. I considered calling her "The Married One," until I realized that she and her husband are super cool married people; they've joined us for hikes, drinks, know the city very well, AND she has already proposed some department sightseeing downtown. I like this girl. And she's married. Thus, The Cool Married One. There's also The Professional, who has a full-time job at Wake Forest. With experience in PR and higher ed, I have a LOT in common with The Professional. He speaks my language, and it's good to find someone with whom you can speak your language.

Finally, you have The Great Debaters, which encompasses all of my remaining classmates who are debate coaches for Wake Debate. They are a bit of a subculture of our department, and if I get to know them better, they'll probably emerge with individual identities in the context of the blog. For now, they're grouped together.

So far, we get along REALLY well, which is why I anticipate the need to reference them on this little thing I call my blog. Look forward to hearing more about them - they are really rad people.

Peace, love, and one heckuva cohort--

Emily