Eating breakfast this morning
Returning to campus after winter break
Waking up on New Year’s Day
When you're done, please post your paragraph here as a comment. As a class, we'll read through a few of these together and use them to generate a clearer sense of how to write vivid narratives.
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ReplyDeleteRyan Schultz surprisingly enjoyed getting up early to for a chilly walk across campus to class. How great it is to be home : ) Mon 9:45am
ReplyDeleteThe morning of my first class of the day, of the week, of my first Winter Quarter at the University of Denver, I got up. Yes, I got up with joy and excitement. After six weeks of hibernation at home, I couldn’t wait to experience the humdrum everyday routine I once took for granted and yes, even resented. As soon as I was presentable and ready to face the world, I was down the stairs and out the door – early if you can believe it, not relatively early, but actually early. I couldn’t wait to breath the chilly and dry air of a frosty morning in Denver or walk across campus to class. Even without the extra-foamy, double, non-fat Starbucks Misto to warm me up, I was happy to be alive, excited to exist, ready to fulfill my infinite potential.
Tuesday Morning? Well, let’s just say it was a different story.
I woke up New Years Day with a great sigh of relief. Upon my eyes first look at my surroundings, the first thing that came to my head was to ask if the inevitable had happened. Is my head spinning around a foreign room? Am I feeling a claustrophobic cold sweat appropriately paired with a mouth similar to the climate of the mojave? No. I stood up from the couch I called home to find myself feeling better than ever. I had survived.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I had somehow misplaced my sunglasses, taken the propane unit off the grill, and had slept with a fat stack of certified angus beef patties, it was a beautiful Denver morning. Along with the feelings of success and pride, I was hit with the thought of how and why. Why was I given the gift of good health on the holiday where it was accepted to feel like one's head had been placed in a wood-shop vice? I quickly shrugged off the questions ( As I couldn't care less) and decided to call up the others who helped me ring in the new year. I wanted sunlight, I wanted breakfast, I wanted Bruggers, but little did I know, I was the only one awake and in high spirits at 11am, January 1, 2010.
“UNIVERSITY OF DENVER NEXT RIGHT”, I sighed as I took the exit trying to remember every event that occurred in the past six weeks. Realizing that an hour drive, felt like it took twenty minutes and that I would be departing from my parents and best friends very soon.
ReplyDelete“Where did break go?” my best friend Kevin asked.
“I do not know, but it went by very quickly” I said with a sigh.
As I turned onto S. High St., I saw college students and their parents saying goodbyes, carrying tubs and laundry up to their dorm rooms. I pulled into the parking garage, forgetting how close I had to be to swipe my card. I found the closet parking spot to the dorms as possible. I grabbed all of my things out of my trunk, not listening to anything that my friends were saying; it all sounded like a mumble. In a sense it felt as if I had never left and also that I wasn’t ready to be back at school. I walked into the dorms and smelt fresh paint and saw many familiar faces.
I took the elevator to the third floor.
“Well at least your elevators aren’t as loud as ours”, Kevin spoke again.
My floor was empty. I unlocked room 315 and felt the welcome back jitters flow through my body. As I unpacked and hung clothes, I was a little sad, but I realized I was already here, I might as well make it worth the while.
As I open my eyes to a very painful and bright sun reflecting off of the water and shining into my window, I begin to recall the reason for this slow and foggy state of mine. It is 11 am now, but the previous night had not ended that long ago. Climbing out of bed, I hit my foot on my night table and just started cursing because of this unnecessary and unwanted pain. Still sitting on the edge of my bed, I decide that a shower might make me feel a little bit better. Today is the end of my vacation, and i need to leave the city within a couple of hours to get home and start packing my stuff to leave for school. A nice hot steamy shower clears my mind a little and makes me feel kind of better, but now I have to run around this place that has been my home for the last month and pack up all of my belongings. "Hopefully I'm not forgetting everything," I say as I zip my bag closed and walk out of this temporary life that I had been living for the last month.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing about breakfast is that I never know whether or not I will end up eating alone or not. This morning, I went to the cafeteria alone. I got some scrambled eggs, some dry potatoes cakes and some funky smelling sausage. I always have the same fear about my stomach going to breakfast (or any meal at the dining hall). This morning was no different. I took my soon-to-be-stomachache and sat down by myself at the table closest to the entrance. Exhaustion always seems to play a role in my morning routine in some way or another and this morning was no different. I kept my head down as I ate the stomachache I called breakfast until I was interrupted by a girl claiming to be in my Spanish class asking me questions about homework we supposedly had.
ReplyDelete“You’re in my Spanish class right?” I looked up and had no idea who I was looking at. Embarrassed and surprised I stuttered some nonsense trying to clear my mind, looking foolish in front of this pretty girl.
“I think so.” Was the best answer I could come up with.
“Did you watch that movie?” at this point I knew that she was in fact in my Spanish class. I rambled on about what the movie was about until she finally left me and my stutters to my breakfast. My eyes followed her to the door where they then saw a friend of mine staring me directly in the face. He came and sat down next to me and we were soon joined by two of my other friends. What could have been a dry and boring morning turned out to be a nerve-racking encounter with a pretty girl and a full table of friends.
Beep! Beep! Beep!...... there's the alarm that won't escape my ear canal just so I can take advantage of all the time I have to sleep. I hit the snooze button in my still dreamy state. Annoyingly fifteen minutes later, the alarm clock returns to "work" after the third snooze, and that is what it took for me to realize I should get up. An hour remained before I had to report to biology once again, but due to a busy night of homework and exercising this was my golden moment to finally get cleaned up. The time before class was becoming tight, but somehow I found a way to not be conservative with the water and enjoy a shower that almost put me back to sleep. Even after awkwardly walking down the hall in squeeky sandals and getting dressed, I still felt like I was half-dead. Somehow the solution to my dragging this morning came equipped with speakers, wires and 1,300 songs. Once I realized my clock read five till, it was time to go. Hours later after class I did some homework and cruised around with my primo, I heard my stomach growl; Oh yeah, I forgot to eat breakfast!
ReplyDeleteThe light was fading slowly as Denny and I drove up the twisting segments of a road neither of us knew. He flew in from Seattle and I was attempting to recall memories from at least 7 years before. Our internal compass was all askew being up in the mountain passes of Colorado and our sense of position was rapidly diminishing as the fog and snow closed in on us unceasingly.
ReplyDeleteYet, the car was filled with a joy achieved by the company of friends. Conversation was light and fluid as Denny stared in wonder out the car window and I occasionally sang along to the snippets of tunes coming from the stereo in my father’s Acura. We had spent the past three days in each other’s company and were on our way to truly test our compatibility with one another a night at the Stanley hotel watching Steven King’s The Shining.
As I drove through the darkening wilderness a peace and calm settled between Denny and I. Our conversation became more intimate and reflective. Having known Denny for only three months or so, during which we both had been studying diligently as the successful college students we wanted to be, I had never asked Denny about an event in his life in which I held great curiosity. Unintentionally, I transferred conversation to his family and past experiences in life. As we chatted about our childhood memories Denny mentioned his father and the fun they used to have when Denny was in Boy Scouts and they would go on group camping trips or on hikes to explore nature.
We have never talked about the death of Denny’s father earlier in the year, but at that moment with the serenity of the mountains around us and the comfortable sense of mutual feelings between us, I was compelled to finally ask:
“What was your father like?”
Being of a usually considerate and respectful personality, I had waited to ask the question in the hopes of not being hurtful topics to the table for discussion, but at this point in time, the question felt right and timely. My instinct was right; Denny turned his head to me with a curious look on his face before returning his gaze to the frostiness outside. His voice was soft and touched with the glint of a smile.
“He was an incredible person…He would have liked you”
My eyes left the road for just a moment to look over at him and were rewarded with a vision of compassion, sorrow, and admiration. I reached over to grab his hand and whispered “thank you” as we drove into the unknown with a greater sense of understanding and interconnectedness with one another.
When I woke up Monday morning—cold, groggy, restless—the one thing I looked forward to was a nice hot breakfast. Being in college has its perks: deciding how late to stay up at night, chit-chatting with close friends, and academic self improvement. Most people argue that one perk that does not resonate in college is the campus food. However, when I left school for winter break to visit with family, socialize, and sleep, I lacked one essential element of my college life routine: breakfast. I never ate breakfast on my break at home because I always slept through the morning, so when I returned to college I wanted fresh scrambled eggs, sizzling sausage, a nice fluffy waffle, and that sweet, sweet maple syrup. As I walked to the dining hall just outside my dorm, I felt warm—despite the harsh cold of a Colorado winter—warm to know that a hotplate of breakfast food awaited me. I walked in the kitchen and immediately panicked. Not one sausage sizzled, not one egg scrambled, and the maple syrup, nonexistent. My stomach winced, my jaw tightened, and I reached for the bland, dull, cold, hard cereal.
ReplyDeleteStruggling with the heavy suitcase up the stairs of the dorm, a distinct smell returned that reminded me of the days before winter break. Dragging my bag, that weighed more than myself, I faced the empty hallway. Something seemed stark and cold about being back on these usual stomping grounds. Lights that had burnt out made the hall seem dark and less appealing. Mindless students were not running back and forth between different rooms screaming at the top of their lungs. As I held my room key up to the lock, I braced myself for the emptiness of my room, I put my key into the lock and turned it. It looked like I had just left it. Posters were still up on the wall, multi-colored christmas lights lining the ceiling, junk piled up behind the closet curtain, everything was the same, except for an overwhelming stench that made my eyes water. I quickly slammed the door shut gasping for a breath of clean air. Finally with a scarf over my face to protect against the smell, I shoved the door open and ran straight in determined to find the source of the stink. Afraid to find a dead animal, I paid careful attention to what I was walking on. After I scanned the entirety of the room, I headed straight for the refrigerator. I slowly inched the door open, fearing what I would find. As I peaked over the door, I let out a sigh of relief. I remembered to throw away all of my food, however my roommate failed to remember to throw away the carton of milk that had expired a week before we left school. Welcome home.
ReplyDeleteThe fresh smell of fake pine spray slowly radiates to my bedroom door, only to awaken me. I thoughtfully roll myself out of bed, stretching in my new red snow flake pajamas. Nearly crawling up the stairs, I am approached by the view of the snow beautifully blanketing the Uintah Mountains. A warm fire lit and hot cocoa welcoming me warmly to the comfy sapphire sofa. As the family leisurely woke one by one, we came together around the fire. As “The Grinch” quietly replays over and over, the excitement increases. Finally Mom and Dad creep downstairs. We all know they’ve been up late dunking the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in the delicious milk we had left the night before for “Santa”. The time has come, we each grab a present, but not one that reads our own name. Quickly we hustle to deliver the gift to its rightful owner. Oh the spirit of giving. Yep, it’s Christmas morning.
ReplyDeleteWaking up, while crossing the final border of our journey between Kansas and Colorado gave a sort of new spirit to the car after the 33 hour drive returning to school, only stopping for gas. After driving up the last sudden hill in Colorado’s plains the landscape dramatically changed with the Rockies and the slightest view of Denver laid out before me. While driving through the city of Denver in the last few miles of my friend and I’s road-trip, we were not plagued with the sense of nervousness that was present the last time we had first arrived to campus. Pulling up to campus I noticed a group of friends ready to help unpack the 6 pairs of skis and 2 snowboards, which were racked and roped to the small Audi, that we had offered to carry out for them. The hauling of bags, boots, poles, and skis began as we trucked our equipment in through the doors of Halls to stuff the elevators with. After unpacking I was relaxed and ready for another exciting quarter and DU.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I feel so lucky because I don’t like sleeping very much as six hours can satisfy me already. Therefore, I guessed I was the first bird ready to sing on New Year day, but when I opened the door and headed to upstairs, I saw Noel (the dog of my house family ) was sitting there on the top stairs, looking at me like a little baby girl with innocent expression in her eyes. How adorable she was! I walked to her and caressed her carefully with touching her hair behind ears because it is said that area is the most sensitive part of animals. Actually, she was always watching over me in that way due to the terrible fact of rolling down from the upstairs when she was only 2 month old, and after that, she never came downstairs, which could be the darkest side for her world. I walked to kitchen and grabbed a cup of milk, sitting on the sofa in front of the French window, still. It’s New Year; it’s the year of 2010, I came to realize. However, the idea following appeared in my mind was 2012 as some theories forecast the earth is going to its ending. Nevertheless, I didn’t feel sacred or terrified; instead, I told myself to believe in living out every single day wonderfully till it really happens. Everything happens for a reason, and everything happens for the best. New Year’s coming made me very excited, and I have been ready to deal with more challenges. The brand new good mood drove me to hum my favorite song, everything is forgiven, and my life could be better and better, I believe.
ReplyDeleteEating breakfast in the morning is like going to a musical or a play. Every morning I woke up around eight o’clock by the assistance of the brutal, merciless sound of my alarm. I go take a shower, brush my teeth, Etc. then I get dressed and head down to the cafeteria, I step through the wooden, wide doors of the cafeteria. Put my hand in my left pocket to get my key chain out that has my ID card in it. I give my ID to the person who’s in charge of the register to swipe and let me in. the hardest part of my day is that, me making my way through hundreds of students to get my food like a snake making his way in a tight maze. First I try to get my omelet- don’t always succeed but I got to try-which is very hard to get. I go and stand in a long line which looks like a thick line of dominos, some time I wait for long time I mean the smell of the omelet will make you wait for hours, and sadly I don’t have “HOURS” to spare. So I move on to get potatoes and some other vegetables which does not sound as great as the omelet but it will do the job of feeding the beast that’s lurking in my stomach growling for twenty minutes. One last important item to add to my breakfast menu which is Chocolate milk, oh man that s a treat, it brings a smile on my face every time. Long story short, breakfast is hard but its essential.
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