All aboard the blog

I sat and stared at my computer screen for about five minutes, trying to think of a non-awkward way to begin my first blog post. Perhaps I could open with a joke? No, I decided, there's nothing non-awkward about a joke, especially if it's one I made up (I recently wrote a rap song full of jokes about theater and quotes from Shakespeare--it was probably one of the most awkward things anyone has put on film and sent to the British American Drama Academy as an audition). Then I had to decided whether or not my blog was self-aware. Should I acknowledge my readers? What if there are no readers? If a tree falls in the forest, will it make a sound?

I eventually settled on the highly awkward segue you see above you, in part because I figured it was best not to misrepresent myself.

My name is Jenny Gaeng. I'm 20 years old, a junior at Oberlin College, and if you had heard my rap song you would probably guess my major on the first try (hint: it's not composition). I live in Baltimore, Maryland, a city I never appreciated until I first laid eyes upon the sign for "Downtown Oberlin" and promptly burst into tears. Baltimore is mainly known for its world-famous blue crabs (which I can't eat because I'm a vegetarian) and the hit HBO series The Wire (which depicts people's lives that are the exact opposite of mine). You will next hear about Baltimore, in more precise geographical detail than you could ever want to know, in an upcoming blog about my summer canvassing job.

I will end this cursory introduction blog with a snapshot, for all my lovely readers, of me as I exist right at this very moment, 8:40 pm on a Sunday: sitting on the lawn in front of Harkness Coop, laptop situated awkwardly between my knees, a shiny gold pair of pants wrapped around my shoulders to discourage the mosquitoes from feasting on my pale flesh. My friends Josh and Glen are playing the tabla and clarinet respectively, and a stranger named Matt has joined them on the guitar. My erstwhile roommate Allie is sitting next to me, also on her laptop, also writing a blog for the admissions office.

It's about to get very intense. I can feel it already.