1.19

Last Semester (the most American tale you'll hear)

Since the start of this semester, I've been trying to figure out exactly why I feel like it's already been so much better than last semester. Two of my closest and now ex-friends hurt me in ways that I have never been harmed before within the last few weeks, but regardless of being borderline traumatized, everything has still felt better than it did last semester. It's really baffled me until just now, when I was watching the newest Papa Meat video about airsoft guns.

That's when I remembered that on the first day of last semester, for about two hours, I was convinced I was about to be in a school shooting. We were in our first acoustics class when suddenly, we all got this insane message from the university:

So obviously we were all a little freaked out. Once class ended, I ended up downstairs in the lobby with a ton of faculty and students that weren't really sure what to do. After this message there wasn't any useful info for a while. We didn't want to leave the building, so the department chair had it locked up. 

Then, this picture makes its rounds:

Fuck was the only thing I could think of to say. I grabbed a few friends and some other random people that weren't sure what to do, and we locked ourselves in the most secure place we could think of: the fourth-floor windowless computer lab that was inaccessible without card access. To be extra safe, we barricaded the room with a shit ton of desks and chairs.

We sat in the back corner of the room on the floor. We all introduced ourselves to each other, and my mind immediately wandered to what we would do if this guy somehow got up here and broke in. What if we weren't able to disarm him? Would I at least be quick enough to shield anyone? 

me next to a car that I thought looked cool

After god knows how long, the university basically told us they gave up looking for him. I still find it insane how bad of a job they did when it came to telling us a single thing. We were evacuated by the FBI, and I had to walk across campus to my car, where they originally saw the gunman, wondering if I was about to hear gunshots. I walked by every type of law enforcement you could think of. News reporters wandered the campus, where groups of random students were standing close together, unsure of what to say, do, or feel.

I fucking hate that this
person ruined my life
because he was so funny
for this. being able to joke
with him when I was locked
 in that room helped so much

It wasn't until the next morning that the news revealed it was a twelve-year-old boy with an airsoft rifle. The university never cleared this up overnight. Some people laughed it off, but I think they were just better at hiding their feelings than others. I was scared, and everyone in the room with me was. My professors were scared.
I was texting people that I barely knew to make sure they were okay. A lot of people were doing that. 

At least this is how I became friends with my buddy Johnny. We met because he followed us up into the computer room.

But yeah, that was a horrible way to start the year. I felt especially awful for the freshmen. 

I guess the bar is on the floor for my college experience. I am liking my classes though so far.

More college stories to come tomorrow. See you soon -G