Threatening clouds almost continually overshadow the forgotten blue skies. Rain never fails in Johnstown.
Rain-boots are a must, but they have been on the list of things to buy for school since freshman year 2011. I have gone to shoe stores with intentions of picking up a shitty pair of rainboots to get me through the years of trudging around campus in hurricane conditions and in fact I work in one, but I remain bootless. The idea of committing myself to one pair of boots to wear on the massive amount of “rainy” days in Johnstown seems overwhelming. That means wearing the same shitty pair of rainboots almost everyday. Yes, I have contemplated buying a highly recommended pair of rain boots, but that would cost more than I can afford. And lets be honest, all extra money is forwarded straight to food. And not just the highly coveted ramen noodle soup or mac and cheese, but the really good shit; Sheetz.
Many rainy days are spent plotting ways to skip class so me and a few friends can run fast through the rain, cutting through Biddle, past the crying flag on the flagpole, jumping over benches, zipping through Krebs, and ultimately making our way to Eastyabumfuck.
The commuter parking lot.
Why we risked our lives so many times to simply eat the delicious food of sheetz is beyond me. We never really risk our lives. It just seemed so scandalous to be skipping class. We have learned that professors don’t really give a shit if we miss, but it’s our loss for not going to class and possibly missing a quiz or something important. Also, it seems rather pointless to not actually attend something you pay so much for.
The parking lots are laughable, it's nonsensical that we have to pay even more money to acquire a parking pass (not an actual spot, it's very limited) is even more comical. Many mornings are spent cursing those damn freshman, or screaming profanities at no one in particular just because I drove around every parking lot and end up having to park in the middle of no where just to walk a mile to class anyway. That empties half my tank of gas, because I ended up circling through the Biddle parking lot TEN times, and I even waited for a guy to pull out of a spot, but refused. When he did eventually pull out I had already moved on, circling the lot another time, when another car had beat me to the spot. The profanities fly.
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| Then there are the always exciting parking tickets that all students fear, but if they are smart they just secretly lose them or forget about them. Maybe even make their parents pay for them. I never register for a parking pass. I find myself to be one of those rebel kids, the ones that professors secretly hate when they see that the car parked in their spot (I never park in the teacher lot) has no pass hanging from the mirror. There is always a feeling of fear when I park my car because I know that there is a possibility that I could receive another $110 parking ticket, but then I come across those two shits that I don't give and keep on parking with no pass. I like to live on the edge. |
These are a few of the things that I will take with me as I leave UPJ. The spring 2015 semester is to be my last one at good old UPJ and I dream of the moment where I will no longer trudge through torrents of never ending rain, or fight for parking as if my very own life depended on it. That moment will be a sweet one of realization that my college days are done (for now) and that I may finally be an adult (as if that's exciting). Which in the real world means a life in debt (Yay, college loan payments)The excitement is almost too much for me too handle. These last few months will go by quickly, but they won't be taken for granted (savoring every last day without monthly bills).
UPJ you have sucked me of everything I am, (financially) but you have repaid me with ridiculous parking tickets, constant rain, a decent education and (yes, there will always be some sap) some really classy, grade A, bitchen' besties that will always be willing to make a sheetz a run with me. Cheers
to that.
(Where's the beer?)
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