Strange how some things repeat themselves, but under slightly different circumstances and with similar outcomes.
Sometimes things in life happen for a reason. Sometimes people come into your life to help you grow as a person. To help show you how to deal with stuff later on in your life. Just like you help them to grow.
My sophomore year started. I wasn't a 'newby' anymore. Remembering the same time last year, arriving here all scared and afraid of being alone. All of that was gone. Even though my good friends from last year were not with me, I was confident that I'd meet and make new friends. Plus, my determination and drive to excel had been taken up a notch from the prospect of working in Doc Iverson's office the coming summer.
Again, it was hard for my parents to once again drop off their only daughter and then turn and go back home to an empty farm. It was also hard for Vickie and me to part after a summer of closeness and bonding. Yes, there were tears... lots of tears, but we each knew that we had each other and always would. Nothing could, or would, change that. We would count the days until we were together and in each other's arms.
It also meant a new roommate. She was different. And I don't mean that in a derogatory way. She was Chinese. She introduced herself as Li Ping.
She was tiny and quiet. Maybe it was just because everything was so new to her. Again, about my size, everywhere. Long black silky hair that came down to the middle of her back. Her skin was like a porcelain doll with large black almond-shaped eyes. Yes, she had an exotic look.
As I helped move her stuff in, I noticed her mom and dad checking out the 'farm girl', the girl who was going to be living with their daughter for the next nine months. I never thought about it, but I guess that fact was pretty evident. I mean it wasn't like I was wearing a sign, or anything. I was just being the relaxed and casual me in a braless tank top, worn cutoff frayed jean-shorts, my blonde hair up in a ponytail, with just a hint of makeup.
I'm sure they were probably trying to determine if I was a 'Party girl'. The strange thing was, they never smiled at me, introduced themselves, or really acknowledged my presence. Maybe it was just my imagination. Oh well. Nothing that I could do about it.
Once again, that awkward time when everything was moved in and it was time to say their goodbyes. So, again, I disappeared to the snack bar and returned twenty minutes later with some fries and a couple of cokes to find Li calmly unpacking her stuff and setting up her side of the room. From what I could tell, there were no puffy eyes or anything. Again, Oh well.
Time to get to know each other.
She smiled when I said that she had a pretty name. She said that it was common for Chinese to name their children with names that held a deep meaning. Li meant 'pretty-beautiful' and Ping meant 'Peaceful' and 'harmony'.
With a smile, "Since we'll be roommates, you can just call me 'Li'.
Her parents had immigrated to the country shortly after she was born and went through the whole citizenship process. Her dad was a doctor who worked in a hospital around Chicago and her mom an ER nurse. Her goal, which was basically her parent's goal for her, was to go into medicine. She wasn't sure exactly which area of medicine. Once Li found out that I was a sophomore and my goal to become a Veterinarian, I think that she relaxed a bit, knowing that I had been here before and was going to be taking my education seriously.
And like all of the 'city girls' that I had met, she was fascinated with my life of growing up on a working dairy farm in a small town and in a high school where we all pretty much knew everybody. I had to laugh as I remembered Carrie, from the previous year. Her only experience with dairy came out of a milk carton. Li thought that was pretty funny, as it was the same for her.
The story of me helping the vet deliver a stuck calf over last year's spring break fascinated her. She couldn't believe that I was driving a tractor when I was only eight years old. She said that learning to drive a car was challenging enough. I tried not to laugh, but she laughed like it was no big deal, so I guess it was OK.
Our shower-mates were nice girls. No Tiffany, thank goodness. Again, 'city girls'. They each kind of reminded me of Carrie. That thought of my good friend from last year brought a bit of sadness. I should drop her a line. I wondered how she and her mom were doing.
I didn't make the same mistake that night as I did the previous year, as we got ready for bed. I changed in the shower room. I mean, I had already freaked out one roommate on her first night and I wasn't going to do it again. Although, as the quarter went on, I think that I did push the envelope at times, wearing just a short t-shirt and panties. And since I never wore a bra, my nipples stuck out. Li never batted an eye, so I guess it was OK. The thought that she might be into girls never entered my mind. She wasn't.
In her first letter, Vickie's new roommate was also a 'city girl' and a bit more outgoing than she was. Vickie didn't think that there would be any personality issues. Still, that should be interesting. I'd love to see those two together. Everyone else on her floor seemed to be pretty nice.
The quarter went fine. Li loosened up and it wasn't long before she was walking around the room braless in just a t-shirt and panties. Her nipples and the surrounding areola formed little peaks and cast dark shadows through her thin white t-shirt. I found it sexy and alluring as hell. I kept telling myself, 'Down Lisa'.
The quarter went by quickly. Li was an industrious student who poured herself into her classes. It was expected of her. She told me that it was how she was raised... total dedication to your education. Nothing else mattered.
I did however convince her to go with me to a few outside activities on a few Saturday nights.
A movie was something that some university club would sponsor. So, for twenty-five cents, you could watch a relatively recent movie in one of the auditoriums. It wasn't fancy; no snack bar or anything, but it was fun and something different.
Li was always fun, once I got her away from her studying. At the end of the evening, she would always thank me. It felt good.
When she wasn't at classes, the library, or here in our room, Li would hang out with other Chinese students at an off-campus house that was basically a dorm for Chinese students. Even though Li was born in China and raised in America, her parents taught her all about her heritage and traditional customs. She also spoke fluent Mandarin. It was a chance for her to relax and be around students who were here on student visas where they all had something in common.
She also added with a grin that it gave her a chance to have some real Chinese food with chopsticks, instead of the carb-ladened bland dorm food.
It was interesting, and eye-opening, to hear her talk about her experiences growing up. The racial prejedices... the slurs. Trying to blend in with her other non-Chinese classmates, but never quite fitting in. Luckily, there were a few other Chinese students around, so they all formed their own little group. It was kind of a 'support group'. They would study together and have their own grade competition. That just kind of made the situation worse as now they were viewed as 'outsiders'... 'different'. They of course excelled in their classes; setting them further apart from the rest of the students.
All of that was so foreign to me... prejudices. But then thinking about what may lie ahead for me and Vickie once we get out of school, and things develop the way I hope they will. It may not be all that different from what we may face.
I knew that there was nothing that I could do about it. Just be myself, and hope that my work ethic and dedication to my chosen field will be enough to carry me through. And maybe, just maybe, win over a little bit of understanding and acceptance.
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