From Cock to Duck

I apologize for posting this blog a few days late. It has been a busy week, and I wanted to get a few more days in so I could have a thorough reflection. Last weekend I walked around Eugene by myself for around 5 hours since I don't have a car. I wanted to just take in the beautiful cascades mountains surrounding Eugene since it wasn't raining and it basically rains everyday here. Upon this 5 hour walk of mine I started to reflect and came to some sobering conclusions. Before I left, I had romanticized this idea that Oregon was going to be this divine place that would help me find all the answers and solve all my problems. I thought everyone was going to love me because I was a new student, and I would be exotic and fascinating. I realized obviously that these were extremely naive thoughts without complexity or a sense of awareness. While people are politically different, dress differently, and carry themselves differently, people are largely the same everywhere. It reminded me

I have been in Oregon for approximately two weeks now. I didn't start classes until January 7th so today marks a week that I've been in school. Life is dramatically different here. Academically, there is no significant deviation between the rigor and workload of the University of South Carolina and the University of Oregon. Oregon is quicker paced, however, considering they are on a quarter system that ends in 10 weeks rather than South Carolina's 14 week semester system. Students here dress differently. Intuitively, there is no Southern Tide or Vineyard Vines. The main brand of apparel here is Vans. The average student at the University of Oregon would likely be classified as a "hipster" at the University of South Carolina. The sentiment around the University and Eugene in general is certainly more liberal than of the one in South Carolina. There are all gender bathrooms throughout campus and there are dispensaries on almost every corner. The oxygen here feels ex