Nothing makes you appreciate your own college like…well, visiting other colleges.

After a summer spent leading tours and lifting cases of objects at my Johnson Museum internship, I welcomed the chance to tag along on my sister’s college-visit roadtrip in the last week before school started. Not that living in green Ithaca during the hottest months isn’t lovely, of course, but I’d fallen into a rather sad rut of coming home after a nine-hour work day, eating dinner in front of Buffy reruns, and doing Zumba in my room with the curtains shut until bedtime (because apparently spinning is the only fitness option available in the summer).

While Roger Williams University’s quiet seaside hamlet setting and Tufts’ bustling city atmosphere are completely different from the Cornell campus, I was surprised to see how similar the tours were to each other and to those I remembered from my pre-college years.

I’ve now come to the conclusion that all college tour guides follow the same basic set of positive statements about their university: even if they’re downright lies. So, to kick off the ending of my first week of classes, I’ve assessed three common collegiate claims in regards to Cornell. Allons-y!

1. “The classes here are all AMAZING. Everyone really wants to learn.”

STATUS: TRUE.

This whole “I’m a junior now!” thing keeps reminding me that my undergrad years are almost up: and, of course, I’m just wishing that I could stay in school forever. Okay, maybe not forever–an eternity of written responses might eventually bore me–but I’m never happier than when my life is filled with discussions, awesome required reading, and creative writing projects. Literally every one of my classes this semester seems absolutely amazing (including the computer science course I’m taking to fulfill my distribution requirements). And isn’t that what college is about?

(To any new readers: before you assume that I’m lying through my teeth, let me stress that I am a genuine nerdhead whose idea of a party involves chatting about linguistic prescriptivism. Non-Academic Blog 2012 this is not.)

2. “Oh my god, you think I’m just saying this, but the food is SO GOOD. Like, I had this friend, you know? And she came from ANOTHER SCHOOL and even SHE said our food was awesome.”

STATUS: FALSE. (I made this pizza.)

Yes, I know I’m a bit of a whiner about Cornell dining. I’m also aware that our food is, comparatively, quite good. That doesn’t mean that I (or my off-campus friends, for that matter) think that it’s the Best Thing Ever. And it’s definitely not “better than [my] mama’s cooking” (as one campus tour guide boasted about her school’s dining).

I spent two years stuffing my face once a month at Cornell’s special gourmet dinners and living off the salad and pasta bars the rest of the time, and I think I’m ready for a change. This year marks my first semester eating without one of Cornell’s meal plans.

Never again will I be forced to consume a sad, soggy veggie burger and Tater Tots during an Appel Sunday brunch. NEVER AGAIN, RED PEPPER FRITTATA! I will certainly miss the soft-serve, though.

3. “Housing is great. Most people choose to live off-campus at some point, but the dorms are totally cool too!”

STATUS: TRUE(-ish)

Though Balch (the all-female residence I lived in as a freshman) had nicer bathrooms and lounges than Risley (the program house where I currently reside), both halls are comfortable, generally clean, and safe to live in. My current Risley room is delightfully large and uniquely charming (but I’ll post more on that later), and the bed is as comfortable as XL-twin air mattresses can get.

I spent the summer living in a co-op (shown above), and although I’ll miss the massive collection of communal cooking supplies, I’m happy to return to a dorm where there’s more than one washing machine and fewer dirty dishes taking over the entire sink. (Though occasionally-sloppy-housemates and too-messy-to-use-kitchens often lead to delicious Thai take-out, so I didn’t suffer too much.)

BONUS: “I’m so excited to get back to school every fall!”

A week ago from today, I was waiting impatiently with my family for the movers to bring my things to Risley (Protip: Collegeboxes’ services can be a bit iffy), trying to figure out the fifteen millionth incarnation of my schedule, and wondering if I could really deal with walking four flights of stairs every time I need to leave my room. Now that Saturday’s rolled around again, I’ve already performed with my a cappella group three times, worked out a satisfactory set of classes, led the incoming freshman in “discussions” (a.k.a. I blabbed a lot while most of them stared blankly back at me) about art objects in the museum, and watched The Avengers at Cornell Cinema (obviously the most significant of my activities). I’m so excited to start my third year here and my second year as a blogger, and I’d love you to follow (or continue following) my musings throughout the semester.

So, welcome to Cornell, Class of 2016! And to those returning to the Hill–welcome home.