Salutations and all that Jazz!

Its Sunday morning, and I’m sitting on the Sanford Mall, soaking in the mountain sun, and contemplating on the best way to start this blog I am writing for the Admissions Department.

Even with the informal nature of blogs, a trend I plan to carry through with my own blog, I still think that a formal introduction may be in order. My name is Landon Matthew Hill (my Mother is the only person that ever uses my middle name). I’m from Charlotte, NC and at this moment (and it has been subject to MANY changes) I am a Public Relations major. I love to write, ingest copious amounts of coffee and spend time with my close friends. I’m incredibly sardonic and cynical, so if you are looking for a “prim and proper” synopsis of what a possible future at Appalachian State University might be like, you might be better off checking out another blog. However, if you want the skinny on what college life is really like from a freshman perspective, then I am your man! 

I’ve been on campus for about three weeks now. Originally, I was going to be an intern writer for The Appalachian, the universities student newspaper, so I was luckily able to move in four days before the rest of my classmates (move in day is chaos).  And while I have an immense respect for the friends I made during my three-day tenure at The Appalachian, I felt that in the end, our “creative differences” were too much for my freelance nature to handle, so we parted ways amicably and now all my time and energy will be devoted to the prolificacy of this blog (right…)

The weekend before classes started was a bit awkward. For the most part, my fellow freshman explored their new surroundings, mapping out where their Monday morning classes would be, and trying to find someone that could direct them to that nights hot spot.  But really the only “bad” thing about “Welcome Weekend” was running into people you were Facebook friends with, and debating whether or not it would be a good idea to speak to them, or just lower your head and continue walking (needless to say, most people chose the latter).

Classes started off at eight AM for me, and I felt an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu, as I ran from class to class with my map of the campus in one hand, and schedule in the other, (the horrors of re-living that first day of freshman year of high school).

But all kidding aside, I’m kind of in love with this university and the town around it. I’m a “city-boy,” so the adjustments from a “Booming Metropolis” like Charlotte to a sleepy little mountain town like Boone was a bit of a culture shock. But, with each passing day, the annoyance of stores not being open on Sunday or past nine PM, or the fact that the closest mall is actually a cluster of stores I could walk through in 7 minutes flat, are actually beginning to add to the, dare I say it, charm of the community.

I want to make this an interactive blog. Even if your parents are making you read this, take time to comment on a post, or send me a question. Because really, how will you ever learn the best places to dodge the police… I mean, the best places to study UNLESS YOU ASK?