My trip to NYU New York University here I come. One of the best colleges in the world and I was my way to a summer stay journalism program with other people my age. FREEDOM, I could feel it all through my body. Plus, the campus is in the Village, which has a reputation for itÕs liberal community and kick-ass clubs.

It seemed like nothing would go right on the days prior to my trip. I had just found out that I could not be promoted to the 12th grade until I made up a damn gym credit so was going to summer school. Then, my mother went to the hospital the night before I was supposed to leave to go on my college stay. I was so excited about going but with my bad luck so it wasnÕt a surprise that it didnÕt seem to be working out. I have never been on a college trip and I couldnÕt wait. But, the morning I supposed to leave, I woke up wondering if I was even allowed to go. My mother was still in the hospital and I didnÕt know if I should go or not. Well, I could stay home with my nagging brothers and sisters or go to a fun and educational trip with no curfew in the village. Humm? Well, I said peace to my family and began my journey.

As I packed for the trip I made sure I brought all the important things to survive, such as, a curling iron, extra shoes, snacks and underwear. After that I packed about 15 to 20 outfits for my eight-day trip. Come on, you never know what will happen. I met up with Justin and Melvin, who are also HarlemLivers, in my lobby at 7:00 am in the morning. To my surprise Justin was on time, he rang my doorbell at 7:00 am on the dot and I was still in the shower. I told my dad to just tell him I was ready and I was coming down so he would not get pissed off. Melvin was a little late , but it didnÕt really matter because when he arrived I was still eating breakfast in my lobby.

As I rode down on the elevator I was trying to remember if I had forgotten anything. I noticed that my load was kind of light, "Opps?, My radio," I said as I swiftly droped my stuff off in the lobby and ran back upstairs to get it. When I came out of the elevator with a shopping cart, JustinÕs face hit the ground. All he could say was, "You canÕt be serious, how the hell are we suppose to get on the train with all of this?" I just shrugged and said, "Somehow, because I need one bag for shoes, one for clothing, one for body and hair care, one for blankets, and one bag for miscellaneous. Oh! and my radio."

When we got to the Village we thought it was all over and time to rest because carrying a full shopping cart up stair is not the easiest task to perform. I took a deep breath and took a look around. The first thing I noticed was how clean it was. Next, I tried to create a mental map in my mind to figure out the location of our dorm. Trying to create this mental map made me have a mental breakdown once I realized the Dorm was dang near off the river on this West Side and we were on the East Side. It was basically two blocks away from the pier.

When we reached the building I noticed that everyone had seemed to already create their little circle of friends. One girl stood out from the rest that I knew I was not going to get along with. Her name was Shakyra and she was the poster girl for the term "ghetto." At this point I knew it was going to be like the MTV show Real World because so many different personalities forced to share living quarters. As soon as we got our room assignments everyone switched in order to be in rooms with who the chose. The girl Shakyra just happened to be in my room. De Vaughn and I were in a dorm together along with 4 other girls. Their names were Tia, Melanie, Rebecca, and Shakyra.

A little bit after everyone settled in another girl by the name of Eno came. She appeared to be very conceited. When she walked in the door I had my radio blasting but it was one of the others CD. I was on the phone when I saw her walk in with her dad. None of us really paid her any attention because we were adjusting. Eno and her dad examined the room like they were authority figures. I got back to my phone conversation with my mother, who got out of the hospital the next day, and I heard a loud "Oh the hell did that" Everyone ran into the living room to see why the radio was lowered and there stood Eno. She didnÕt say Hello or even introduce herself and she was already touching stuff. Shakyra said "have you lost your Damn mind, touchin' shit, who are you anyway?" Eno rolled her eyes and picked up her bags and went into her room. At this point Shakyra was ready to shorten her trip but one of the girls calmed her down and we went back to our business. Eno and Shakyra kept bumping heads throughout the day but it wasnÕt until Eno said a smart comment after the fact. It happened when Shakyra was on the other side of the apartment doing her hair for our party we were planning. Eno is on the opposite side of the apartment but in view a Shakya. The Eno said it;"the music was to damn loud anyway." ShakyraÕs eyes lit up and she said "let me tell you somethin' B****." In a split second Shakyra dashed across the room toward Eno and É to be continued -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------