Welcome to a series of stories that basically make up my autobiography. It’s not entirely thorough, but I’ll do the best I can with the memories locked away inside my head. Could be therapeutic for me. Could be humorous for you. Either way, enjoy…

Previously on Life Story… I began my freshman year at Bluefield College and was introduced to the first roommate I’d ever had. We decided not to keep in touch.

Welcome Week is a time honored tradition that I’m confident is observed on college and university campuses across the country. It makes sense. You’ve got this incoming crop of young students who are feeling uneasy about this transition into almost-adulthood, so the powers that be and the student activities team put together a string of events that are designed to convince freshmen not to get homesick.

If I remember correctly, it kinda worked.

I’m pretty sure there was a bonfire of some kind. It was sponsored by the Baptist Student Union, so that’s where I met the campus minister and sort of got a grasp on what campus ministry meant at Bluefield. Being a very small Baptist college, the Baptist Student Union was the only available campus ministry. This is opposed to larger campuses that have multiple campus ministries vying for students’ attention (like at Virginia Tech where they have Cru and Chi Alpha and several others).

The Student Union Board also hosted a movie in the quad. They showed Deep Impact and served “mocktails” to everyone who came out to watch the movie. Remember, Baptist school… no alcohol.

Those are the only events that come to mind. But I know there was something every night for that first week. I honestly don’t remember if I’d begun making friends during Welcome Week. That’s because I have no doubt I was still awkward and shy and probably only forced myself to leave the dorm because I knew I wouldn’t start enjoying college until I started getting involved.

So I left the room. I started getting involved. And I started putting myself out there.