The Difference between "home" and "Home"- intermediate comp paper
The word "home" is a vague term. Many people consider their home to be the physical structure in which they live, while others consider it to be wherever their family is. I, however, have always been a strong believer in the saying "home is where the heart is." I found out that this saying can have a radically different meaning during my junior and senior years of high school when I was accepted to and attended the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, a public boarding school run by the state of Mississippi for "exceptional" students. Though my friends and I were living away from "home," we took our new circumstances to heart and dubbed the school our "Home." In this paper, the difference can only be seen by the capitalization of one word verses the other; but in our hearts and minds the difference was much deeper, and our Home had an affect on our lives that none of us will soon forget. This Home was defined not only by its physical attributes, but also by its atmosphere and by the students.
The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, commonly referred to as MSMS, was an intimidating place when we first arrived. For the first time in our lives, we would be living in dormitories with people whom most of us had never met. Many students were very emotional as their families left; others were glad that they were finally going to be "on their own" and able to make their own decisions. I, myself, was affected by my family's departure in a way I never expected. Though I had sworn to myself time and again over the summer that I could not wait to be away from my family, actually seeing our van pull away without knowing when I would see them again brought unexpected tears to my eyes.
Shortly after goodbyes had been said, each student was to meet with an orientation group of approximately 10 to 15 students in an effort to help everyone get to know one another. A relatively small group of seniors known as Emissaries headed the groups and led us in introductory games where we would announce our names, what city we were from, and some of our interests. In the beginning, the only things we knew about each other were that we were all from the same state, and that we would all need friends to survive our first years away from home. From the first day, we sought to find the niche in which we fit best, each becoming classified into cliques not dissimilar to those at our old, "normal" high schools. Though there was not a marching band at MSMS, there were still "band geeks," who enjoyed regaling each other with tales of contests and trophy wins. There were still "jocks," the basketball players, cross-country runners, and swimmers who were proud to let anyone know about their own personal accomplishments-- and who had no one, for the most part, to call them out if they were to embellish slightly. I, however, found my place amongst those who would most commonly be referred to by others as "strange." We were the Japanese animation lovers, the ravers, and the computer geeks; as well as (Lord forbid) the people who read for pleasure. In general, we were a group of people whom no one else seemed to understand, and so we turned to others in the same position, people to adopt as our family away from home, and gaining the title of our Family at Home.
One of the hardest things to get used to, at first, was dorm life. There were two dorms set aside on the Mississippi University for Women campus for our use. One, Peyton (later Frazer), was for the males; the other, Fant, for the females. Each dormitory was three stories tall, white, and had colonnades across the front porch. They housed approximately 150 students each, all in double rooms. Each floor had a lobby and television room, a microwave, and a water fountain, with laundry rooms on the first and third floors. The hardest thing about dorm life, for most people at least, was getting used to sharing their private space with another person. At that point I had three younger sisters and had shared a room for four or five years with one of them, so it wasn't as big of an issue for me, but my first roommate was not used to sharing, so we soon changed rooms. The two roommates I had afterward were more adjusted to that aspect of dormitory life, and we got along quite well. The roommate I grew most attached to (and lived with the longest) was my third and last, Rose, who became very much like a sister to me. Whenever we propped our door open, other students would knock, asking if they could come look at our walls, because of the huge amount of posters and pictures that we had put up all over the relatively small room. Posters from many different anime, and even some of our own drawings, ranged from the alcove-like entrance to the furthest wall near the windows. Our room was often filled with the sweet and tangy odor of oranges due to our habit of bringing them back from the cafeteria to eat as snacks. When we were told that our door had to have name cards on it, we decided that instead of using the cards given us by the RA's on our hall, we would make our own from pictures we found on the Internet. There was a feeling of family-like closeness whenever we were in our room, either by ourselves or with friends. Often, Rose and I fought over petty things just as real sisters would, but more often would we and our friends crowd on and around Rose's bed and watch movies on her computer. We laughed, cried, and survived the many ups and downs of life in that one tiny room, finding comfort in each other and our mutual friends.
Our rooms were not the only places in which we came together. In fact, because males and females were not generally allowed past the lobby of each other's dorms, we would often meet outdoors, in the gazebo or on the lawn. There were many fall and spring days that would find a group of ten to fifteen MSMS students lying on blankets in front of the guys' dorm, playing card games, drawing, reading, or talking. I was most likely to be found sitting in my boyfriend's arms and staring up at the sky as a cool breeze floated by and ruffled hair and papers. Later, we would all play a game of tag on the front lawn, our bare feet padding against silk-soft, cold grass as we chased each other with a child-like glee. At night, we would often meet for half an hour after mandatory study hours and talk in the gazebo, sitting in the chill night air and sharing thoughts, troubles, and joys; even sometimes listening to music and eating pizza. My first game of "spin the bottle" was played in that gazebo, with a cell phone instead of a bottle, and people refusing, too shy to kiss their closest friends. On weekends, we would hold dances in the gazebo. While other students in the school lived for hip-hop and popular music, we listened instead to hard rock, dance, and techno, preferring rave-style and sometimes break dancing to anything the "popular" kids would do. IN fact, for Halloween of 2002, the MSMS Anime Club sponsored a rave. After inter-dorm Trick or Treating, the gazebo filled with Jedi, fey creatures, vampires, and even a cow. As diverse as that group seemed, so were the people behind the costumes. Yet on that night, as music, light shows, and glowsticks filled the air, we were all a single, diverse family. Even though we were different-- sometimes, radically so-- we found comfort in knowing that we would always be there for each other.
That feeling of togetherness is what made a boarding school--something most people would fear, or at least find intimidating-- into the most dearly beloved Home any of us had ever been a part of. Even now, after we have all gone our separate ways, we keep in touch over the Internet, and sometimes by phone. MSMS taught each of us a very important lesson, a lesson that, I believe, should be shared with everyone we meet: Home is not simply where you live. Home is where you know that you are loved and accepted for who you are. Approximately one hundred and fifty new students are admitted to MSMS each year. Those students come away not only with an experience that will help them with their college education and, afterwards, their careers, but also with an understanding and a love for people of different backgrounds and culture. Mississippi is not known for being the most open-minded state in the country, but I think that in creating MSMS, they took a step in the right direction by creating a Home for students of every kind to learn in, live in, and love.
[paper i wrote for intermediate comp... yeah i know, it's cheesy... dun laugh, pwease? I got an A ^_____^]
The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, commonly referred to as MSMS, was an intimidating place when we first arrived. For the first time in our lives, we would be living in dormitories with people whom most of us had never met. Many students were very emotional as their families left; others were glad that they were finally going to be "on their own" and able to make their own decisions. I, myself, was affected by my family's departure in a way I never expected. Though I had sworn to myself time and again over the summer that I could not wait to be away from my family, actually seeing our van pull away without knowing when I would see them again brought unexpected tears to my eyes.
Shortly after goodbyes had been said, each student was to meet with an orientation group of approximately 10 to 15 students in an effort to help everyone get to know one another. A relatively small group of seniors known as Emissaries headed the groups and led us in introductory games where we would announce our names, what city we were from, and some of our interests. In the beginning, the only things we knew about each other were that we were all from the same state, and that we would all need friends to survive our first years away from home. From the first day, we sought to find the niche in which we fit best, each becoming classified into cliques not dissimilar to those at our old, "normal" high schools. Though there was not a marching band at MSMS, there were still "band geeks," who enjoyed regaling each other with tales of contests and trophy wins. There were still "jocks," the basketball players, cross-country runners, and swimmers who were proud to let anyone know about their own personal accomplishments-- and who had no one, for the most part, to call them out if they were to embellish slightly. I, however, found my place amongst those who would most commonly be referred to by others as "strange." We were the Japanese animation lovers, the ravers, and the computer geeks; as well as (Lord forbid) the people who read for pleasure. In general, we were a group of people whom no one else seemed to understand, and so we turned to others in the same position, people to adopt as our family away from home, and gaining the title of our Family at Home.
One of the hardest things to get used to, at first, was dorm life. There were two dorms set aside on the Mississippi University for Women campus for our use. One, Peyton (later Frazer), was for the males; the other, Fant, for the females. Each dormitory was three stories tall, white, and had colonnades across the front porch. They housed approximately 150 students each, all in double rooms. Each floor had a lobby and television room, a microwave, and a water fountain, with laundry rooms on the first and third floors. The hardest thing about dorm life, for most people at least, was getting used to sharing their private space with another person. At that point I had three younger sisters and had shared a room for four or five years with one of them, so it wasn't as big of an issue for me, but my first roommate was not used to sharing, so we soon changed rooms. The two roommates I had afterward were more adjusted to that aspect of dormitory life, and we got along quite well. The roommate I grew most attached to (and lived with the longest) was my third and last, Rose, who became very much like a sister to me. Whenever we propped our door open, other students would knock, asking if they could come look at our walls, because of the huge amount of posters and pictures that we had put up all over the relatively small room. Posters from many different anime, and even some of our own drawings, ranged from the alcove-like entrance to the furthest wall near the windows. Our room was often filled with the sweet and tangy odor of oranges due to our habit of bringing them back from the cafeteria to eat as snacks. When we were told that our door had to have name cards on it, we decided that instead of using the cards given us by the RA's on our hall, we would make our own from pictures we found on the Internet. There was a feeling of family-like closeness whenever we were in our room, either by ourselves or with friends. Often, Rose and I fought over petty things just as real sisters would, but more often would we and our friends crowd on and around Rose's bed and watch movies on her computer. We laughed, cried, and survived the many ups and downs of life in that one tiny room, finding comfort in each other and our mutual friends.
Our rooms were not the only places in which we came together. In fact, because males and females were not generally allowed past the lobby of each other's dorms, we would often meet outdoors, in the gazebo or on the lawn. There were many fall and spring days that would find a group of ten to fifteen MSMS students lying on blankets in front of the guys' dorm, playing card games, drawing, reading, or talking. I was most likely to be found sitting in my boyfriend's arms and staring up at the sky as a cool breeze floated by and ruffled hair and papers. Later, we would all play a game of tag on the front lawn, our bare feet padding against silk-soft, cold grass as we chased each other with a child-like glee. At night, we would often meet for half an hour after mandatory study hours and talk in the gazebo, sitting in the chill night air and sharing thoughts, troubles, and joys; even sometimes listening to music and eating pizza. My first game of "spin the bottle" was played in that gazebo, with a cell phone instead of a bottle, and people refusing, too shy to kiss their closest friends. On weekends, we would hold dances in the gazebo. While other students in the school lived for hip-hop and popular music, we listened instead to hard rock, dance, and techno, preferring rave-style and sometimes break dancing to anything the "popular" kids would do. IN fact, for Halloween of 2002, the MSMS Anime Club sponsored a rave. After inter-dorm Trick or Treating, the gazebo filled with Jedi, fey creatures, vampires, and even a cow. As diverse as that group seemed, so were the people behind the costumes. Yet on that night, as music, light shows, and glowsticks filled the air, we were all a single, diverse family. Even though we were different-- sometimes, radically so-- we found comfort in knowing that we would always be there for each other.
That feeling of togetherness is what made a boarding school--something most people would fear, or at least find intimidating-- into the most dearly beloved Home any of us had ever been a part of. Even now, after we have all gone our separate ways, we keep in touch over the Internet, and sometimes by phone. MSMS taught each of us a very important lesson, a lesson that, I believe, should be shared with everyone we meet: Home is not simply where you live. Home is where you know that you are loved and accepted for who you are. Approximately one hundred and fifty new students are admitted to MSMS each year. Those students come away not only with an experience that will help them with their college education and, afterwards, their careers, but also with an understanding and a love for people of different backgrounds and culture. Mississippi is not known for being the most open-minded state in the country, but I think that in creating MSMS, they took a step in the right direction by creating a Home for students of every kind to learn in, live in, and love.
[paper i wrote for intermediate comp... yeah i know, it's cheesy... dun laugh, pwease? I got an A ^_____^]