I had lived in a dorm before. Back in India at the age of 13 and 14. Fortunately, I had my elder sister with me. She was like a parent who guarded me from anything and anyone that could hurt me.
There was a lot of talk of ghosts and spirits then. Things like calling a dead person’s spirit and asking if a guy liked them or not. If they would pass the exam. If they would become rich. For my young mind, that was all too much. I got too scared to be in a dark room or sleep by myself. So I moved into my sister’s room and asked to stay in the same bed with her. When things got really bad, I would place the bible under my pillow and put my hands on it. That was the only way I could calm myself down to fall asleep.
Now in Addis Ababa University, I had to deal with things on my own. No sister, no friends, no parents to hold my hand.
What amazed me was how the other girls were dealing with things so well. I had 7 other roommates in the dorm I was assigned to. All of them came from a well known school called Nazret school. It was an all girls private school in Addis. All the girls I met from there always seemed like they knew how to dress like a sophisticated lady. They knew how to talk to men. They were always in groups and seemed to be having a great time.
I don’t know how I was put in a dorm with them but I could see up close and personal how they lived. I watched in amazement when they would come up with creative hair styles and look stunning on a daily basis. I was never great at those things and wondered if they had some sort of training to be this good at this age.
I was jealous at how together they seemed. I tried to talk to a few that were in class with me. They were friendly too. But I didn’t feel a strong connection. I have to make friends or the 4 years would make me miserable. I kept my eyes out for people that may be outliers like myself.
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This is part of the story I am writing for https://www.comingelsewhere.com/
There was a lot of talk of ghosts and spirits then. Things like calling a dead person’s spirit and asking if a guy liked them or not. If they would pass the exam. If they would become rich. For my young mind, that was all too much. I got too scared to be in a dark room or sleep by myself. So I moved into my sister’s room and asked to stay in the same bed with her. When things got really bad, I would place the bible under my pillow and put my hands on it. That was the only way I could calm myself down to fall asleep.
Now in Addis Ababa University, I had to deal with things on my own. No sister, no friends, no parents to hold my hand.
What amazed me was how the other girls were dealing with things so well. I had 7 other roommates in the dorm I was assigned to. All of them came from a well known school called Nazret school. It was an all girls private school in Addis. All the girls I met from there always seemed like they knew how to dress like a sophisticated lady. They knew how to talk to men. They were always in groups and seemed to be having a great time.
I don’t know how I was put in a dorm with them but I could see up close and personal how they lived. I watched in amazement when they would come up with creative hair styles and look stunning on a daily basis. I was never great at those things and wondered if they had some sort of training to be this good at this age.
I was jealous at how together they seemed. I tried to talk to a few that were in class with me. They were friendly too. But I didn’t feel a strong connection. I have to make friends or the 4 years would make me miserable. I kept my eyes out for people that may be outliers like myself.
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This is part of the story I am writing for https://www.comingelsewhere.com/
it'll also tell you your cumulative word count on that project. And you can also assign a book/cover or thumbnail picture to the project.
I did that just yesterday in google drive. I was thinking I wrote 40% and the total word count was just 2500. I have ways to go.