that first awkward post..

I am now ten weeks into this chapter of life called "college". That means I am 2/3 of the way done with my first semester, or 1/12 of the way done with my entire college career! Doesn't time fly when you're having fun..

I'm having the time of my life here in Lubbock, TX. So far, all of my classes (with the exception of chemistry) have been fairly easy. I've been staying on top of my studies for the most part, and still have PLENTY of time for friends and fun!

I went to a Christian camp for incoming freshman called Foundation Camp the week before school started. I can't think of a single way I would have rather started out my school year than with great Christian friends who share my beliefs, values, and basic outlook on the world. I met tons of great people, including my best friends at this camp.

At camp, we were broken up into five teams: Red Team, Orange Team, Yellow Team, Green Team, and Blue Team. The entire week was a competition, and Green Team ended up winning it all! We had so much fun, and I met so many great people.

When I refer to "the girls", I'm talking about Leah, Kristin, and Lauren. Leah is my roommate, and she is the one who told me about Foundation Camp. I am so glad she did! She was on Yellow Team at camp, and is a PR major from Plano, TX. She is in a Christian sorority called Sigma Phi Lambda, or "Phi Lamb". I think it means "Sisters for the Lord" in Greek. Kristin was also on Yellow Team. She is from a little town near San Angelo called El Dorado, and she is majoring in HDFS (Human Development and Family Studies). She is in another Christian sorority, RSC (Raider Sisters for Christ). It is much much smaller than Phi Lamb. Lauren didn't get to go to Foundation Camp, but she fits right in with all our friends. She is pre-nursing, and also from Plano, TX. She and Leah were best friends in high school. All three of these girls are freshman.

Doug and Neil are my two best guy friends, and I met them both at Foundation. Doug is a freshman ESS (Exercise and Sports Sciences) major from Denver City, TX. We were on different teams at camp (he was on Yellow Team) and really didn't meet until we got back to Lubbock, but we seemed to click instantly and we've become great friends. We have Political Science together on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and he has also been known to sit in on my Nutrition and Finance classes :)

Neil was a counselor on Green Team. He is a sophomore Mechanical Engineering major from Clifton, TX (a teeny tiny town near Waco). He is very active in his fraternity, a Christian one called MOG (Men of God). We talked some at camp, and have gotten to know each other much better since we've been back. He has an apartment near campus, and I spend quite a bit of time over there. The girls and I love to cook, so we use his kitchen, utensils, appliances, and food fairly often. I also make full use of his free washer and dryer, since the ones in the dorm are coin-operated :) He is a great Christian example, and someone I look up to a lot spiritually.

Those are the people I spend most of my time with, and as I talk about new "characters", I'll try to give them a brief intro as well.

I've been attending Indiana Avenue Baptist Church. IABC has a separate campus and Sunday morning service for college students, and so far it has been amazing. I visited a few other churches, but I really feel like this is where I need to be. The worship is absolutely incredible, and it's student-led. The speaker, Clayton Walker, preaches in a way that I'm not really used to. He doesn't use a whole lot of personal stories, but he really focuses on scriptural references, which I like. I think IABC could be what I call my church home in the future..

So there's a little taste of what I've been up to since August. Hopefully the next time I post I won't have so much to catch you up on!

I hope everyone is well, and I can't wait to see some of you in El Paso for Thanksgiving!