Getting used to my life in Irvine.
We’re only in our fourth week of school, but it feels like I’ve been here forever. I’ve finally learned my way around campus, although walking through Aldrich Park at night is still as refreshing as ever. My daily schedule has finally been solidified, and I have finally settled on a proper rating for the food at Brandywine—6.5 out of ten.
During week two of school, I was introduced to “petr drops,” where hundreds of students run to chase fanmade art. Dubbed “petr culture,” artists create parodies of a derpy-looking version of our school mascot, Peter.
The way these “petr drops” work is simple. An instagram account posts a picture of a petr sticker with a date and time attached. Then, they will post another picture at that specific date and time, but this time of a random location on campus. From then, every student who wants their hands on a limited-time sticker has to go run to that location, where a masked person will hand out a limited amount of stickers. I have gotten quite a few of these stickers, and I have the Zotfinder app to thank. Everytime the Instagram accounts post their location, I plug in the place into Zotfinder, showing me the shortest route to getting there.
These petr drops have not only made me feel closer to the community, but also have helped show me around campus. I only take three classes, so there are many parts of campus that I haven’t yet seen. But through the random drop locations from petr drops, I have been to so many places I would imagine going, such as UCI’s nature reserve, the Crawford Athletic Complex (where the soccer team trains), and the Biological Sciences Quad (I hate science).
I never thought the highlight of my college life would be chasing after stickers, but lately, I’ve been obsessed. I’m following almost every petr Instagram account (there are too many), and I’ve been to almost every sticker drop, bar the ones I had to miss for class. So, if you ever see me in line for a sticker, say hi! I’ll always be willing to meet someone new.
Later!
Ian