At 11 PM, in the midwest suburban home of Daniel Hines, all is quiet but for the sound of typing. The soon-to-be first-year engineering major sits at the desk in his room, a faint smile illuminated by the pale glow of his computer monitor. As he refreshes his browser, another post appears on The Class of 2017 Facebook group, which he reads before blowing a short burst of air through his nose and commenting “LOL”.
“I’m so glad I found this.” Hines was quoted as telling his friends, “It’s this really cool way to get to know people before we get to campus. By the time fall rolls around, we’ll already be really tight!”
The hopeful but nervous student has already marked several “out-of-control ragers” on his calendar, taking place in Park-Stradley, Baker West, and Barrett respectively. Meeting many of his best friends for the first time, Hines plans on getting “totally wasted”; diving right into the college life! Though he has only ever had a beer or two with older friends during high school, he is so much more mature than he was a year ago, and can “totally handle” 3 or 4 shots now without embarrassing himself.
“I was really nervous that I wouldn’t immediately make a lot of close friends like I had in High School,” says Hines, wearing the shirt he received at Orientation, “but I’m really bonding with these people from my year! Look, I’m not the only one who hasn’t read the summer reading book!”
In an attempt to facilitate what everybody obviously wants, Hines has begun to organize gatherings once everyone is back on campus; posting such offers as “Anybody up for some ultimate on the oval the Tuesday before class???” and “I’ve heard Sloopy’s has the best burgers in Columbus if anyone’s down to join Wednesday evening???” Several people have commented on both posts, and Hines has already packed away his favorite frisbee in preparation for a great time!
One acquaintance has a special place in this incoming member of the pizza club’s eye, however: “Yeah, this girl, Carrie, commented on one of my posts. I looked at her profile pic and she was like…wow! You know? So hot. So I messaged her and we’ve been texting back and forth for the past couple days. I don’t know, this might be something real, you know?”
Carrie, when reached for comment, was quoted as saying “Oh yeah, Danny is real nice. He’s a little bit of a bro, but he’s really sweet. I wouldn’t like date him, I’m really trying to focus on me during school, but, sure we could go out to a party or something! I don’t want to miss out on the college experience!”
After winning an argument over who is living in the best hall this year, Hines shuts off his computer and gets into bed, excited to meet all of these people who will, undoubtably, play a large role in his life over the next 4 (5) years.