Katie Thurman Staff Writer Imagine, if you will, the end of the day. You’ve been working hard, you’ve been going to class, and there’s no telling how long you’ve been on campus. You’re tired but you’re content, because ah, this is it. You’re going home. You hop in your car and you turn the ignition over and zoom, you’re on your way. (Already, you’re relishing the thought; ‘Ah…home’.) You didn’t expect to sit in traffic. You didn’t even know you could sit in traffic for this long.

Before you know it, you’re convinced that you’re going to be trapped in OCCC’s parking lot for the rest of eternity.

Okay, you can stop imaging now – this is turning into nightmare territory.

None of us find it very fun to be stuck in a traffic jam, or to have our daily travel come crashing to a halt due to construction. We don’t like waiting, of course, and if you’re like me, then you find being late comparable to the sort of crime that deserves corporal punishment. But there’s a special kind of annoyance that I experienced the other afternoon when 12:30 p.m.. rolled around and I was stuck sitting in traffic on Faculty Circle for close until well past 1:00 in the afternoon.

I was pairing up my socks, while doing laundry the other day, when I found a pink and white striped sock. The sock in question has no mate and sits in a round laundry basket all year. Why?

Because I can’t throw it away due to my fear as soon as I do the other missing sock will appear. I hold on to this sock letting it take up space when it is not contributing to my life in any way. I could have bought a new pair many times now.

During psychology class, which I took during the January intersession, I realized how busy college students are, yet how determined they can be.

My classmates and I sat during a four hour class Monday through Friday in the same classroom for two weeks.

We were given assignments, homework, and presentations. All during a two week course. It was like an entire semester in two weeks. No lie, it really was. It was stressful but our professor never lost faith in us.

Many call this the age of communication, I don’t. We have Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, texting, Blogs (like this one), and many other ways to communicate.

You would assume with all these speedy ways to converse that we would be friendly, open, and comfortable with communication.

While on campus the other day I was asking random students questions for a Pioneer article. Some looked uncomfortable while many barely looked me in the eye before continuing whatever they were doing.

Throughout our college lives we run into many, let’s say, “quirky” professors. To be fair, I think it takes a mild chemical imbalance to even attempt to do the job.

Imagine having 30-50 new students every semester. Among these future leaders are those who, to use a cliche, are not the brightest crayons in the box, to those who are one bad lab experiment away from being a super villain.

Over the course of several years it would drive even the most resolute professor a little mad.

As the police reporter at the Pioneer I have read about campus thefts. Most of which seem to be thefts of opportunity.

An unattended laptop, a locker without a lock, belongings left unsecured. Many would say it is the victims fault for leaving their things unprotected.

I say it is the fault of our society, we think of me myself and I. So, of course, when an iPhone is sitting on a table with no one around it is taken.

Welcome to the jungle. At least, that’s how it feels during the first week or two back to class. It is hard not to get overwhelmed as each semester starts anew.

There’s always so much confusion and chaos; new professors, new syllabi, new books. And then, of course, the lines EVERYWHERE you go.

Lines at admissions, lines at financial aid, lines at the bursar and be sure to set aside a full hour if you buy your books at the bookstore.

Classes are starting back up and I am very nervous about this upcoming semester. However, I am pretty sure I am not the only one.

Everyone, welcome back to a new semester and a new beginning. Let us start the promises of “no late assignments” and my personal favorite, “I will stay on track.” Does this happen?

Sometimes, yes it does and other times, not quite. I will sit on my bed late at night after a long day at work and school doing homework.

Does anyone read the Pioneer blogs? This question seems to haunt me with every keystroke I dedicate to a blog’s content.

As far as I know, there isn’t a way to find out how many people, if any at all, have in fact read the blogs on the Pioneer website. Of course, there is the rating system and the option for readers to leave comments, but it doesn’t seem like anyone uses those features very often.

Sports transcends all boundaries. If everything in life were as simple as being a sports fan we would all get along so much better with the people in our communities. When I think about the lines that separate us from each other I can’t help but wonder what life would be like in a world were the only thing that mattered was our passion for our communities.

The other day I saw an older man getting out of his truck. He was wearing his team gear decked out in Denver Broncos blue and orange. As a Colorado native and die hard Broncos fan myself, I was happy to see another brother “united in orange”. We exchanged a few words and went our separate ways. I started thinking to myself, would I have ever talked to that man in any other setting?

The answer is that I wouldn’t have.