By Ella Pravetz
I have been at UCLA for less than a week and already it feels like I have been walking these hills for an eternity.
From the minute I stepped foot on campus, I was greeted by an exuberant explosion of move-in assistants and their oversized trolleys. My zero week could be summed up in two words: sensory overload. I feel like I have arrived at one of the coolest summer camps of my life, only all its members have been hand-selected for their brains, talent or athletic ability.
I have already encountered numerous celebrities, from YouTube’s Jimmy Tatro strolling down Westwood to Academy Award-winning Tom Hanks giving me the thumbs-up outside the Freud Playhouse.
I have gone from sitting alone in De Neve Commons hoping someone would sit next to me to getting yelled at by the dining hall ladies for pulling tables together to accommodate the huge number of freshmen eating together.
The sheer number of new sights, smells, noises and names to remember is overwhelming.
Living in Gardenia Way, I have already found out what a frat house sounds like at night when you’re trying to sleep, even when it is blackout week. Luckily with the large population of welcoming second-years on my floor, I’ve quickly learned that ear plugs and eye masks are invaluable accessories.
I have been astonished by all the free performances available to students, like the screening of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” with a question-and-answer session with the author/screenwriter/director and some of its leading actors.
I might as well have been on the set of “Glee” when I stumbled across the a cappella groups showcasing themselves for potential members with their equally inspiring and intimidating voices. Walking out of Kerckhoff Hall, I even encountered funky bands jamming away in the evening.
Some of the food offered is absolutely tantalizing.
As much as I try to avert my eyes when I walk by the dessert sections of the various dining halls, the warm smell of fresh brownies and cupcakes always seems to waft in my direction tempting me to eat them, a challenge I have never had to face before in my life.
I don’t understand how I manage to find so many attractive, fit people on our campus while buffet-style dining halls exist.
Events like Volunteer Day allowed me to meet other freshmen on my floor, as well as in various other housing units as we bonded over sarcastically commenting on the irony of calling it “volunteer day” when our presence was mandatory.
It may be the end of zero week, but it’s mind-boggling to think that this end only marks the beginning and a slight taste of the next four years of our lives here at UCLA.
Pravitz is a first-year theater student.