Dear Terry,

Hello :]. Finally, your favorite college student has time to write you a letter. The semester has just started -- merely the end of the first week -- so we are still relaxing here in the dorms. It snowed yesterday! My friends and I were planning on going dancing downtown, but decided against it because of the snow. Instead, we rented a movie and set up my room as a theater: we sat/lied down on a blanket on the floor and propped the laptop on a chair so we could watch it. We had an unlimited supply of Mint Oreo cookies, marshmallows, and hot chocolate -- probably not the healthiest of things, but perfect for a sleepover :].

I actually fell asleep sometimes midway through the movie. I just woke up this morning to see that only one of my friends went back to her own bed to sleep! My two good friends Kevin and Lawrence are still asleep on the floor. I've given them blankets and pillows :].

I guess that since they're in my room right now, I should introduce you to them :]. Lawrence is Chinese with a handsome face and beautiful jawline. He is Buddhist and is always a pleasant presence to have around because it almost seems as if he is so at peace that he will only be either passively indifferent or happily smiling and never angry. He is from Queens, so I was lucky enough to meet with him during break; he graduated from the prestigious Stuyvesant High School, which is just one shred of evidence of how smart he is. He is studying to be a Chemical Engineer, and without his help, I never would have gotten an A in Chemistry last semester. He is ridculously skilled at explaining almost everything; I want him to be a Teaching Assistant next year as a sophomore, he's so good. He's very logic-centered in the way he thinks, so I suppose that's why he doesn't lose his cool easily and why it'll take him only three hours to complete a problem set for chem but an entire night to write a simple subjective reflection paper. He may not exactly understand the way people act and react because he tends to think instead of feel, but regardless, he really is a great friend. When I've been too scared to sleep in my room alone (my roommate is often sleeping in her boyfriend's room on the other campus), he's always offered to sleep on the floor or on my roommate's bed so I can sleep in peace. He is an immensely considerate person, as this shows, always thinking of others before himself. We often spend a lot of time together.

The other guy friend I spend a lot of time with is Kevin. He is tall, about 5'11", and proportionally built; we are working out together daily now, so he's beginning to look more nicely fit every day :]. I feel closest to him because he is also Filipino, though he looks much darker than me, haha. We have a lot in common because of our common heritage and upbringing -- for example, we are also church buddies and trek to Mass every Sunday night together. To be honest, I feel like we'll be either such close best friends as siblings in the future, or he'll be my husband, haha. He is such a good guy who shares my culture, morals, and faith. I care a lot about him (and Lawrence), almost to the point where I feel maternal around them. Whenever they sleep over, I always make sure they use my spare pillows and blankets so that I know they're comfortable; when they're stressed or studying, I ask them if they want a massage or hot chocolate. The dynamic the three of us have is so much like a family that we almost always get breakfast and dinner altogether.

I feel safe, comfortable, and content when I'm with them. There have been times when we have spent almost three days together without leaving each other's company -- sleeping, studying, talking, relaxing, and eating together. I feel so blessed to have made such good friends. I even often feel closer to the two of them than most of the girl friends I have made here.

I love college, to be honest... just not the schoolwork, hahaa. There isn't much to say about the academics, except that it's much harder than high school, and we all lose so much sleep over doing work and reading our textbooks. I'm doing quite well right now, though -- my first semester, I ended up with a 3.89 GPA. I was really happy :].

The most dangerous thing about college is the bad influence. That's why I really am blessed to have found the friends I have now -- Lawrence and Kevin -- who share my morals. I do, truly, feel safe around them. I have girl friends who don't share my morals and are actually sexually active. I shouldn't be surprised because I know that state of the world today. It's hard to resist temptation when everyone else is giving in, but it's easier when you surround yourself with better people, I have found.

As of now... I am doing just fine :]. I am very happy now, with where I live, what I do, whom I spend time with, and who I am. I am glad I chose Buffalo. I even, just recently, got a job as the keyboardist at the Catholic center on campus! It feels even more like home now.

How are you? And how is Tony? Please keep me updated on the both of you. I hope you're doing well.

I hope this letter wasn't too long for you. I tend to be ridiculously wordy! But I wanted to tell you about how I am now, and not to worry about me or to miss me too much. I'll see you soon enough.

Love,

Irene

God Bless. <3