I am a few weeks in to this college life experience, and I realize now more than ever what I wish I would have brought with me from home and things that I really could have done without. Before moving into my dorm room, I made sure that I had looked at Pinterest to get some college tips and tricks, but even Pinterest didn’t know what I needed.

I thought that once I got to college, I would be able to walk everywhere I needed to go. I can, but it’s so much more work than I thought. Walking to and from my classes isn’t so bad, but my extra activities that I also am a part of require me to do more walking than anticipated.

I’m not against exercise either. I just feel that if I’m going to work out and get sweaty, I will go to the gym. I don’t want to be sweaty and gross just from walking from one building to the next. I’ve decided to bring something from home to ease the travel around campus for the day. I want to be able to sit down, so of course I will bring my bike.

I haven’t rode my bike since I blew my back tire up in my face. Now I know that you might be thinking to yourself, “how is it possible to do such a thing” but let me explain. I was tired and I wasn’t paying attention to how fast the air pump was filling my tire up. By the time I realized that I had it a little too full, it blew up in my face. That was the loudest noise I have ever heard and for a while after, the only thing that I could hear was the ringing inside of my ears.

I would like to think that I’m tough, but I will admit that I cried. My dad saw it all happen and was there to comfort me. We looked at the shreds of tire scattered around the bike and the now bent rim. I got the tire replaced but have never looked at my bike the same. Desperate times call for desperate measures though, so I will have to get over it and create better memories.

Karena Ozier is a freshman elementary education major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or at kmozier@eiu.edu.