10 Years? Already?

You know that in June, I went home to Florida for my 10-Year High School Reunion. I have no problem believing that 10 years have passed since I graduated high school, really. I feel very far-removed from high school, so that is easy to believe.

However, last week I came across an article marking the 20th anniversary of the Gainesville Murders by Danny Rolling. As you probably know by now, I have a great fascination with the serial killer psyche and have read extensively about various serial killers, and Danny Rolling primarily. That interest is what led me to pursue my degree in forensic psychology. But when and how did this area of interest come about, you ask? Well, it started 10 years ago, when my mother dropped me off at my dorm room my freshman year of college and as she got ready to leave, she mentioned that it was the 10-year anniversary of the Gainesville murders. Great thing for a mom to mention to her child about to spend her first night ever living away from home, right? But all it did was spark my interest, and I spent quite some time that night looking up that case and reading about it online.

The point of this story is that coming across that article about the 20th anniversary made me realize that it has been 10 years since my parents dropped me off at Murphree Hall on the University of Florida campus. Yes, I know. It only makes sense that it has been 10 years since I started college, if I just celebrated my 10-Year High School Reunion. But for some reason, I am having a much harder time believing that 10 years have passed since I began my freshman year than I do believing that it has been 10 years since I finished high school. I guess I still think of myself as pretty recently out of college, but that is not the case - I graduated six years ago already!

I have such great memories of my college days. Eric and I often fondly reminisce about our time on the Florida campus, and say how much we wish we could go back to those days. We had such an awesome time. In honor of 10 years having passed since I started college, and school starting for so many other people right now, and the first Gator game tomorrow (woohoo!), I thought today would be a good time to take a little look back at my college life.

As I mentioned, my parents and Heather drove me up to Gainesville to get settled into Murphree Hall, Section A, Room 131. Murphree Hall was in a great location, right next to the football stadium, and the rooms were huge - there were actually two "rooms" in each room (if that makes sense) plus a sink. The downside? NO AIR CONDITIONING. And oh, the heat. We lived with box fans in every window, and even still, your makeup would melt off before you finished applying it. And it was no better in the winter. The heaters were old and made the most awful clanging noises when they turned on, and heated the rooms so well that we still kept our windows open even in winter. Basically, we were just always hot. And the fire alarms went off ALL THE TIME. So yeah, it was an awesome place to live.

Little college freshman me in front of my dorm. My room was the third set of windows on the left, just above the little balcony.

View of the stadium from my bedroom

My freshman dorm room

But, I loved it. My first year I roomed with a girl named Jonnali, and quickly made friends with Kristina (whose wedding I went to last year) and Nancy. I adjusted well to classes and made friends with some of the boys in our dorm, too. I went out to parties and nightclubs, ate pizza from Italian Gator across the street, downloaded music on Napster, watched the Homecoming Parade "illegally" from the little balcony outside my window, attended my first Gator Growl, and mostly just hung out with my friends. At the end of the year Kristina, Nancy and I went to Daytona Beach for a weekend, where we Nancy and I pierced our tongues and generally got into mischief. We all then bid farewell for the summer, and I went back to St. Petersburg just in time to be Eric's date for his senior prom!

Me with roommate Jonnali, and neighbors Kristina and Nancy

Daytona Trip: Nancy and me in the car on the way there, and Kristina and me in our Beatles-themed hotel room

Eric's senior prom

My sophomore year, both Jonnali and Nancy moved to other housing so I moved into Kristina's room with her. She and I remained roommates for the rest of college. We set up our room a little differently -  rather than of each of us having our own "room," instead we shared bunk beds in the main living room and had a separate room for our desks. It was a great setup. Eric joined us at UF that year, and he moved into an apartment at the Courtyards with three very random roommates. Before long, we had a good little group going, when Kristina and Eric's friend Jeff from high school (and now our former DC roommate) started dating. We did everything together that year. We did much of the same stuff as freshman year: Gator Growl, nights out at Alligator Rocks (with rides on the Later Gator bus), Italian Gator pizza, etc. We just had a larger group to hang out with this year!

Top row: Eric and me and Kristina and Jeff at Gator games; Bottom row: Eric and me in my dorm before a night out, and Kristina and me on the Later Gator bus

That year, however, started off on a very somber note with the events of September 11th, 2001. I remember that I was walking to my morning class that day and overheard people talking about a plane crash. My first two classes proceeded as usual, and then my third class was Nature of Human Conflict or something like that. My professor thought we should discuss the events of the day, but I still didn't know what was going on. Before we could get into it the college announced classes were cancelled, so I went back to my dorm and stayed glued to CNN for days. We just couldn't believe it. I remember trying to call my parents but the cell towers were so overloaded, it took forever to get through. I went to a memorial service at the university, and that year I spent my spring break in New York visiting a friend and was able to see Ground Zero just six months after the attack. That will always stick with me. They were still sorting through the rubble at that time, you could still see that iron cross on the scene, the gravestones at St. Paul's Chapel were still blown over, and sides of buildings adjacent to Ground Zero were still blown out. Everyone just stopped and stood silently as they passed. It was intense.

Views of Ground Zero in March 2002: still sorting through rubble with the iron cross in place, and buildings around the site still undergoing repairs

Kristina and I ended our sophomore year with another trip to Daytona Beach, this time with friends Gaby and Bonnie from the dorm. I also got to paint the 34th Street Wall for the first time, in honor of my friend Sleiman's birthday. Then I spent another summer back in St. Pete, working at Steak 'N Shake.

Back in the Beatles room in Daytona with Kristina

Painting the 34th Street Wall

My junior year, Kristina and I moved into an apartment at Oakbrook Walk. We wasted no time getting settled in. Eric left the Courtyards and moved into an apartment at Gainesville Place with some old high school buddies. Again, many of our activities didn't change: classes (with a longer walk to get there, thanks to our new digs), parties, clubs (Jetset, most often), Gator games, Gator Growl, get-togethers with friends. Eric and I started attending FCA, and I became involved with Sigma Phi Lambda, a Christian sorority just getting started on campus. I worked at a consignment boutique called Sandy's, and Eric started coaching JV football at Gainesville High School. For spring break, we went to the Cayman Islands with Eric's family.

Clockwise from top left: Eric and me before a Gator football game; Halloween (me as a cowgirl and Eric as a "Tennessee Fan," ha!); Eric showing off his Gainesville HS letter I got him in honor of his coaching job; and us in the Caymans for spring break

That summer I stayed in Gainesville and took a few summer classes, but made trips to St. Pete for Heather's high school graduation and to be the maid of honor in my friend Fran's wedding. Eric took an internship in Washington, D.C. and I went to visit him for my birthday (I turned 21!). Little did we know we would end up living there together just two years later!

Fran's wedding; Eric and me by the Reagan Building in DC

My senior year, Kristina and I were still living in Oakbrook Walk and Eric was still in Gainesville Place. Sigma Phi Lambda was officially on campus, and I was a charter member with a "little sister" named Holly (who is getting married this weekend! Congrats, Holly!). I made the most of my last year of Gator games and my last Gator Growl. Eric turned 21 years old, and our friends Coral and Alexis helped me paint the 34th Street Wall for him. He also came to Cleveland at Christmas with me for the first time, which meant a lot to me. Eric was very involved in student government that year, campaigning for the Access party. We spent spring break in the Bahamas with Coral and Alexis, which was an interesting but very fun time.

 Top row: At a Gator game; Kristina and me at Guavaween; Eric and me with our pumpkin on Halloween; us at my last Gator Growl

Bottom row: In Cleveland; me with "little sis" Holly; with Coral and Alexis in the Bahamas; Coral and Alexis helping me paint the 34th St Wall for Eric's birthday

Before I knew it, it was graduation time! Could four years really have passed so quickly?

College graduate

College was really one of the best times of my life, and I'm so glad to have those memories. I just can't believe it has already been 10 years since it all began. But, I am proud to be a Florida alumna, and a part of the Gator Nation!