It was Thanksgiving break and I pulled into the station after a seven-hour bus ride home.

I got picked up at the station by my mom, who just about died at how different I looked: longer hair, “freshman 15,” and a tattoo she’d never see (though I worried that she sensed). I proceeded to go home and get totally stuffed on some very non-Thanksgiving pierogies (I’m part of a very large and loud Polish family). My dad and brothers and I drank beer and played cards until about 11, and then everybody but me passed out.

Just like I’d planned.

I’d come back to Ohio on a mission. Within 17 days of getting to school in late August, I’d lost my virginity to a cute sophomore named Laura. She would study on this hill outside my dorm every afternoon, and I’d find myself... Read More