A few weeks ago, I was reading my horoscope in The Cavalier Daily. I've never really put much faith in the stars -- I'm a tad bit of a control freak and don't like to think about how my life could be determined by the random alignment of celestial bodies. That particular day, however, I had a few extra minutes to kill between classes and had already figured out the Word Jumble.
For all interested parties, I'm an Aries. According to most descriptions, Aries are stubborn, independent and ambitious -- all characteristics I consider central to my being. So while I'm not much for reading the stars, I'm willing to admit that every once in a while they get it right. On that fateful day, my horoscope read as follows: "You can't remember everything."
Holy crap. Maybe the stars do know a thing or two about me.
I used to think I had a great memory. I remembered people's birthdays without the aid of Facebook, I knew the names of people I had only met once -- heck, I even knew when my assignments were due. Then I got old and things changed.
Last week, I met a new person. I admitted to this person shortly after meeting him that I probably wouldn't remember his name and he spent several minutes trying to help me develop a strategy. It's almost a week later, I haven't seen this kid since, yet I remember his name. But that could also be tied to the fact that he was cute and therefore worth remembering.
I now own one of those monstrous day planners. Not only is it the same size as the notebooks that I supposedly take class notes in, its (I'm a little ashamed to admit it) color coded.
Orange for my part-time job. Blue, green, red, yellow and brown for each of my five classes. Dark green for my club meetings. Papers and projects are highlighted in yellow. Preparation needed for my club meetings is highlighted in green. Deadlines and meetings for my Cavalier Daily column are highlighted in pink.
I've also become addicted to Post-It notes. I have several different colors, two sets with cutesy sayings and I use the digital kind so much I can't see the picture I have up as my desktop background anymore.
Okay, I admit: I'm a type-A personality. I love to check things off lists, cross them off in my planner and throw away a Post-It. But I swear I didn't used to be like this -- back in my underclassman days, I had only a pocket-sized planner to satisfy my checklist needs.
Now, however, my schedule is so packed my parents keep asking me if I actually go to class. And I don't think I'm alone in this -- most of my other fourth-year friends express the same amazement. Somehow our free time, that time we used to spend studying, has completely vanished.
In my room, next to my bed, is a table shaped and painted to look like a tiger. Although it is not very large, it holds a reading lamp, a jar of face cream and the four books I am currently reading for class. Not so unusual when you consider both of my majors are fairly reading-intensive, until you realize that books about survival in concentration camps during World War II don't exactly make for material to help you fall asleep. Also, it's important to note that many of these books were due in class one or more weeks ago. I'm still holding on to the illusion that I will read them before finals.
With all this chaos is my life, it should not be surprising that my social life has suffered. My father, not to be held back by traditions that say fathers are supposed to want to keep their little girls to themselves forever, keeps asking me if I have a boyfriend.
Granted, my older brother's best friend did just get engaged, so maybe marriage is a hot topic of conversation in the Sisk household these days. Also, my parents are aware that several of my friends are in serious relationships. And it is my last year to meet my special college someone. But, sadly, I have to schedule appointments to see my best friends. I think it would have to be someone pretty damn special for me to work him into my schedule. And then there's the whole issue of what color to highlight our dates when I write them in my planner.
Editor's note: Laura missed the meeting for this column because she forgot to write it down.
Laura's column runs bi-weekly on Thursdays. She can be reached at lsisk@cavalierdaily.com.
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