Back to School - Jennifer Baljko

The hour-long expedition down the New Jersey Turnpike to Rutgers University started with great fanfare. My mother began taking photos with her disposable camera early in the morning. My dad couldn’t stop hugging me. The van was stuffed with boxes, relatives, and pets. Everyone wanted to see my dorm room and stroll around campus. They were more excited about my first day of university than I was. Don’t get me wrong. I was thrilled about leaving Jersey City for the immensely more exciting New Brunswick scene (uh, well, not exciting, maybe different is a better word), and even more tickled by the idea of sharing a room with only one other person, as opposed to being cramped in a tiny room with my three sisters. Still, it was quite embarrassing all this buzzing around. I know I blushed when my clan of siblings, grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and the family dog descended from the van like a circus troupe. I tried to stop them from opening random doors, examining other people’s closet space, and sniffing around toilets. I wasn’t very successful. Ok, thanks for coming, thanks for helping me unpack. But, um, can you please go now?