Put on yer booties, 'cuz it's cold out there

My freshman year of college was many things. Many more than I could articulate in the short space I have here. In some ways, it was the most expensive year of my life. In others it was the cheapest. You can't pay for many of the learning experiences I had. I'm sure most people feel similarly. My first semester of college was at an exclusive private college. I couldn't afford to go there. I had the biggest aid package they could muster. Mostly it was loans. That semester cost more than the remaining 4.5 years combined.

Let me explain a little more of the phrase, I couldn't afford it. They gave me a dorm room that cost more than I could gather in financial aid. I had no other money. It's practically unheard of for a freshman to live off campus. I did it. I lived in a friends basement. I didn't have a choice. I missed the best part of the freshman experience. I say that, but in retrospect, I could have lived there had I tried a little harder. I did have the meal plan. I didn't have a winter coat. In the mid-west, where temps can reach 30 below zero that's insane. I had two jean jackets I wore together to stay warm. I wore double sweatshirts and everything else I could find to stay warm.

I developed a scheme to raise money for a new coat. A brown leather jacket I coveted at the mall. I put it on lay-away (do they still have that?) I made payments whenever I could come up with $20. Eventually, the coat was mine. I ended up wearing that coat for a very long time. The collar is stained dark with skin oils. The pockets are worn out, the lining is shot. I can't seem to throw it away. It hides in the back of my closet not quite forgotten. A reminder of different minds and different times.