Day 001: Starting Out

Hi. My name is Andrew. I'd like to go by Arque, but we'll see how long that takes to catch on.

I just started out at Cogswell Polytechnical College, home of the dragons; you might call me a fledgling.

Taking on Software Engineering with a focus of artificial intelligence seemed like the next logical step for someone addicted to giving life to robots. Sounds pretty cool right? That's what I thought as I boasted my major at the school's game development club. I can't leave now: apparently they need programmers.

I expected college to be a prison where professors lecture at you in a room filled with dozens of others in the same boat as you. Really, this place is nothing like that -- that's what high school's for.

There are only 200 students here -- 200. That's how many kids I thought would fill a classroom. Needless to say although I'll say it anyway, Cogswellians are a tight-knit family.

Starting out sucked. I'm terrified of meeting new people to the point where I won't say anything at all and awkwardly sit alone trying to act like someone should act if they were a normal person. But really, no one here is normal; that's why we're at Cogswell.

Everyone else (or so it seems) has already accepted themselves as who they are, automatically avoiding the futility of trying to be that person with that golden personality.

I can feel myself slip between the two states of mind: between observing myself and calculating things to say, and genuinely wanting to be around others, conversing naturally. The latter feels much more right. I think it has something to do with the pool table.

Partaking in a good game of billiards has proven to be a great way to get into the right state of mind.  Everyone has the same goal -- get the balls in the holes. Nothing's ever really awkward, so it's a good time to say whatever.

I'm hoping I STAY in this state of mind, because it feels like the right place to be.
I'm hoping to make Cogswell my home.
I'm hoping become part of this family.