When I first moved into my dorm room, I had yet to experience the vast and diverse plethora of students buzzing around campus. There is about a 300-mile stretch between my hometown in Georgia and Tuscaloosa. I had lived in a honeycomb, and then I moved to the hive. 

The few struggles I have had to maneuver through have been, generally, campus-wide issues. Such things include parking, transportation, meal plans, meeting people, getting books and doing classwork online. Perhaps the three biggest remaining issues for me are doing classwork online, my stupidity in the persistence of relying on the bus system as a means for swift and effective transportation and the required meal plan.

To touch on my first issue, the concept of taking classes online is alien to me. I have never had to take a course without the constant presence and guidance of a physical human being. In an online class, there are no negotiations without calling a 1-800 number, no pencil to paper action, and no designated time to do the coursework. I will only meet my professor one or two more times during the entire semester. At least I know now to find out if the class is online or not before spring registration. We live and learn.

The one thing that should be an unchanging and stable part of student life is the bus routes, simply because a lot of students rely on buses to get them to and from the places they need to be in a timely matter. This is not the case at the Capstone.

Since I have been here, the bus routes have been altered multiple times to the point where it’s not even worth the hassle and confusion to get aboard the CrimsonRide. I would rather hike across campus for many reasons.

Firstly, all of the buses clump together so that they are on one side of campus, stopping at the same stops consecutively and abandoning the other side of campus. Consequently, this forces people like myself, who are forever on the opposite side, to wait a year and a day to board the bus.

Secondly, after boarding the bus, I occasionally realize there have been extra stops added to my route. At one point, after having five minutes to get to class and sitting through four red lights, I politely asked the bus driver if I could be let off the bus. He declined my request, as it was a blatant risk for me to walk out into dead stopped traffic and walk 50 feet to Reese Phifer. Following protocol is understandable.

My final issue is the required meal plan that all freshmen were forced to purchase. All freshmen currently have at least a silver meal plan (the minimum plan of 150 meals plus 10 guest meals). This means all freshmen are allotted 10 meals per week. I have spoken with other freshmen, and we feel that if we do not eat, we are wasting our money by letting the meal plans go to waste. We have all heard of the freshman 15.

It seems a bit ridiculous to force freshmen to buy a buffet of food or two a day that they may otherwise not eat.  Unlimited Coke, pizza and hamburgers once or twice a day, with the exception of a limited variety of healthy options, is not going to trim anyone down. We are purchasing our own freshman 15.

But thanks to the meal plan, I decided to go to the Student Recreation Center to burn a few calories. While trying to navigate my way through the Recreation Center, I discovered the Outdoor Recreation Department. I studied the activities of the department online and decided to sign up for the whitewater-rafting trip down the Ocoee River. I went on the trip as a completely inexperienced rafter, not knowing a soul, and came back having gone through class 4 rapids and meeting the most amazing people. The corrupted meal plan has truly opened up a wide door of opportunities for me to squeeze through. 

I chose to attend the University of Alabama not because of the online classes, the bus routes or the meals plans; but because of the quality education that is facilitated by this fine establishment. I am sincerely proud to be part of the spirited Crimson Tide community, and I hope to set down a firm foundation for my future at this beautiful university that, despite its minor flaws, I have grown to love in such a short amount of time. Roll Tide.

Laura Corley is a freshman majoring in journalism. Her column is the third in a series on the freshman experience.