What’s up guys? My name is Darryl. I am 21 years old and have been in college now for three years. However, I am an incoming junior and Computer Science major to Embry-Riddle at Daytona Beach. I previously attended Pellissippi State Technical Community College (yeah, I know the name is too long) back home in Tennessee. I am from Oak Ridge, a small city just outside of Knoxville. For those of you who aren’t familiar with TN (which is probably most of you) it’s in the east part of the state between the Smokey Mountains to the east and the Cumberland Plateau to the west. I received 86 credit hours and an Associates degree before coming to Embry-Riddle. I always wanted a bachelor’s degree but it was cheaper to get my core classes done at a community college before going to a university. There was only one problem. Of my 86 credits, ERAU took only 30 and the rest were electives. That’s the problem with transferring between schools.
Well, how is school going so far you might ask? Let me tell ya! It’s been one crazy day after another. First of all, for those of you who might be turning 21 before school starts, I would suggest that you just forget on campus housing and start looking for an apartment now. I paid my housing deposit and turned all the papers in early so I could get a room. Everything is good right? Well, not really. I got a letter saying that there was no room for me and because I was 21 I wasn’t guaranteed housing. So, with my deposit refunded and some money from my summer job I set out to find an apartment. Much to my dismay nearly every apartment was already filled to capacity. The apartments that weren’t filled up didn’t look like they would be the safest of places to live in. I won’t lie; parts of Daytona Beach can be kinda scary. But really, what city isn’t? The school is in a good neighborhood, but there are a few areas between the school and the river (not the ocean, just the river) that could use a little revitalization and a much better economy. But, I did find one apartment in Port Orange (just south of Daytona) which is awesome. One problem there it’s in the process of being built. They are brand new apartments, but I am still waiting for my building to be completed so I can move in. I have been living in an extended stay hotel since late August waiting for them to complete it. I am really anxious to move into my apartment when it’s finished mostly because it will be cheaper than a hotel every night. But that’s not the only crazy thing around here.
Daytona has something else to watch out for. Hurricanes! I arrived in Daytona after Hurricane Charley did all its damage, then had to evacuate like everyone else for Hurricane Frances, and then they kept school closed since Hurricane Ivan was approaching, but then of course it didn’t hit. So anyways, we had the first three days of school and then it was closed for two and a half weeks!! Weíre just now getting back to school and getting everything back to normal. School is good though. It’s really nice here, always warm outside. ERAU has a lot of activities to keep you busy (when they’re open and there’s not a hurricane nearby). They have movies and pool parties and all kinds of different things. The classes are relatively small. It depends on the class, if it’s a basic class that everyone needs you might have 30 or so people in there. The upper level classes have many less. It’s a lot of work already. I’m taking Physics 150. LOTS of hw. But, life goes on. That’s just how college is. Well, I am going to do some homework (I say that a lot now, haha). Later guys.
