I applied to Baylor the first day humanly possible. Soon after, I received a call from my admissions counselor, Melissa. That's one of the things I love about Baylor--it's so personal. She let me know that I'd been accepted, and that I'd receive my official letter in the mail soon. It was an exciting day at the Dixon house! My mom happened to grab my camera while I was on the phone and was able to capture the moment. I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere.
We had a family friend who had a niece my age also going to Baylor. Julia and I met over Christmas break our senior year of high school and hit it off. Although we were different in a lot of ways, we figured we had enough similarities that we could live together. It sure beat going pot luck!
This was move in day in our tiny room of Collins 257. {And also the day of my most embarrassing moment. Ask me about it sometime.} Imagine us, plus both sets of parents, and then people dropping by to say hi. It was insanely packed. But in a good way. We rearranged our room not long after we moved in to create a little more space. I still marvel at the fact that I walked down the hall to the bathroom for an entire year...amazing how college will stretch you!
One of the reasons I think I felt so comfortable at Baylor was that I still had "family" there. Our Baylor Summer Bunch had lots of kids at Baylor. I loved running into them on campus, sitting with them in Chapel, calling them for advice, or just hanging out. It was so nice to see a familiar face. This was dinner one night at Rudy's when we all ate together. (That didn't happen too often, but it was always fun!)
{BRH Choir Christmas Party}
Another thing I knew I needed to do very quickly was to get involved. That's always my first piece of advice to college freshman. One of the reasons I didn't love high school was because I struggled to find a place where I could fit in. I wanted that to change at Baylor, and I made a conscious effort to be different. When someone asked me to go and do something, I went. Every time. (Unless of course they asked me to smoke pot or something. Ha.)
One of the ways I got involved was trying out for BRH Choir. Two of my BSB friends were already in the choir, Laura and Allison. I auditioned and got to start singing with them twice a week. They graduated that year, and I will always think of BRH in '05-'06 as my favorite year. We met on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5-7 and sang in Miller Chapel on campus. Singing that often made my heart happy, and getting to see two girls I looked up to so much was also a treat. I got to know the rest of the choir as well, and they, too, became an extended family.
About once a month, we'd travel to another city to sing at a few churches. This was our way of fundraising for our end-of-year mission trip. Although I was in BRH for three years, I only went on one trip. I lucked out and got to go to Australia after my freshman year. Way cool.
The other thing I did my Fall semester was get involved with FCC (Freshman Class Council). Honestly, we didn't do much, but it was a great way to meet people. We got to be in the parade and walk with our float. It was a fun thing to do, and I enjoyed it.
And of course, the Fall semester wouldn't be complete without Homecoming. It was so fun to share this with my family. Pretty sure this was our Christmas card that year. Although Troy didn't end up coming to Baylor, we don't give him a hard time about it. :-) He still asks to come home for the Homecoming weekend, and he loves it as much as the rest of us. I guess when it's in your blood, it's just hard to ignore.
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