Here’s a tip! If you’re writing your college application essay, don’t go somewhere – well, distracting.
A friend and I decided to meet up at the library to work on our essays and supplements and try to get ahead on the nightmare that is the Common App. Then we noticed the beautiful park that the library sits next to, and ended up wandering out to the fountain and sitting on a bench. The grass was green, the sky was blue, the sun was warm. Across the pond was another pair of girls, talking and laughing. Tranquil, peaceful, and just the right kind of atmosphere to work, right?
Then the first pigeon landed. My friend’s immediate response was to curl up into a ball shrieking while I clutched her shoulder and attempted not to spit water all over her as I struggled to restrain my laughter.
But then another pigeon landed. And another. And then about forty pigeons came at us at once, milling at our feet and bobbing their heads, their beady eyes expectant. Clearly they had been classically conditioned to expect food (see, Dr Schatz? I DO know the material!) when people sat down at the park benches.
Well, aside from the teeming avian pit of disease at our feet, things were going great. We were booting up our laptops and trying to avoid meeting each other’s eyes for fear of laughing again, determined to get our essays at least started.
And then the ducks arrived.
A little threesome waddled out of the water. The female dove straight into the crowd of pigeons, emerging triumphantly with a crumb in her bill. The two males followed her, quacking at any pigeon who might dare attack their lady love. At one point, the female duck snatched a crumb straight out of a pigeon’s beak, and chased it for about ten feet, herding it towards the water.
At this point, my friend and I just about lost it. Holding each other up, we laughed for about ten minutes until the pigeons and ducks realized no more food would be arrived and sulked away. Then, clutching our ribs, we walked back to the library, realizing that no more work could be done out here.
Moral of the story? Stay away from birds.
I forgot to mention this last night, but Students 2.0 is a place everyone should check out. The blurb on their About Us says: We are students: the ones who come to school every day, raise our hands with safe questions, and keep our heads down. Except, now we have a voice—a strong voice—to share our ideas through a global network. What they really do is talk about being a student in today’s high-pressure culture, the good and bad about the American education system, and raise issues both in and outside of school that they feel should be addressed. Worth a check out at the very least; there are some fabulous writers on the blog.
Mucho ♥,
your friendly neighborhood supergoddess
Friendly Neighborhood Supergoddess 