The City of Firsts

    For the past five days, I've been exploring my new home, meeting new people, doing new activities, eating new foods, and adjusting to my new life as a college kid. It's been a bit of an adjustment trying to live on my own. I've really noticed how much money goes toward food and laundry and all these other little expenses. And while I'm not exactly excited about spending more money, I am excited to see how I'll grow and change and learn while having to adjust to this new life.
    I've had the opportunity to do some volunteer work this week during my Pre-orientation for Habitat for Humanity. We've been working in a neighborhood called Sandtown. It's an older part of Baltimore made up of old row houses with marble steps and gorgeous brick fronts. The area has become run down, though. Habitat buys groups of houses and reconstructs the interiors, cleans up the yards, and makes the houses habitable and presentable.

    We were working on some framing in one of the Sandtown houses yesterday after we got back from lunch. My friends, Dylan and Jasper, and I were perched on some joists of the second floor, trying to actually make a floor, when the earthquake hit. The joists wobbled and some small rocks and rubble tumbled down from the ceiling. Dylan and I were kind of shocked, but Jasper (he's from North Cali) just laughed at us. It only lasted five seconds, but it was pretty cool to get to experience my first earthquake.
    And with that anecdote, I'll segue into the explanation of my title. One of Baltimore's nicknames is "The City Of Firsts." I feel like coming to this town for this next chapter of my life is so appropriate. And so, to take advantage of this happenstance, I have decided to make a freshman year bucket list.

 • Get my picture taken in front of Charm City Cakes
 • Find out exactly what lacrosse is, then play it
 • Visit New York City
 • Check out Artscape
 • Eat a Baltimore crab
 • Watch Hairspray (I know, I know, I'm uncultured)
 • Learn to play the banjo
 • Visit PostSecret mailbox
 • See Ke$ha in concert
 • Take a taxi
 • Hit up a Wawa

I know this list is pretty small so far, but I'm sure it will grow as I further explore this city and adjust to college life.

Learn More, See More, B'more

Wow! This has been one crazy week. A lot of things have happened, and it has all worked out to be one of the greatest times I've ever had. For starters, I got my Eagle Scout this week, woohoo! It was a lot of hard work, but I definitely learned so much and gained abundant people skills from having to do this project. I mean, I had to get TWO whole permits processed with the DOTD; if that doesn't deserve a medal, I don't know what does.
I've also spent a good amount of time packing for college. My room looks different, but not near as much as I imagined it would. I didn't bring much more than clothes, a dozen novels, and some mementos I've collected from friends. I feel like this will be a chance for me to start with a clean slate. Unfortunately, I forgot my toothbrush, so the slate's one of the few things that will be clean.
The hardest part of this week has been making my farewells. I am moving away from family and friends and a lot of people who care about me and help me out, and I'm sure I'll realize very soon that they helped out a lot more than I thought. Getting to spend time with these people this past week has really helped me to appreciate them more, though, and I know our friendships will stay strong.

Now, to the exciting part you've all been waiting for! My journey to Baltimore. 
Thursday night, Elliott and I watched Fright Night so we could see David Tennant. He was amazing, per usual (and while this wasn't really part of my quest, I felt it was worth mentioning). Friday morning, we packed up the car and my family drove me to the airport to see me off. It was during that car ride that it really hit me that I was going to be moving 1100 miles away and living on my own. 
After saying my final goodbyes to my family and one of my best friends, I boarded the plane headed for Houston. I successfully navigated the large airport and made it to my terminal, where I then hopped on my flight to Baltimore. From there, I took a shuttle to the Amtrak station, where I bought my MARC train ticket to get me to Penn station - or so I thought. The attendant at the ticket counter had given me a ticket to Union station, in Washington D.C. By the time I realized the mistake, I was already well on my way to the Capitol. Upon arriving, I bought the correct ticket and got back on the train. My 20 minute train ride quickly stretched into almost two hours of travel time. During my detour, I got to see a lot of the state and surrounding area, and I met a really cool scientist who had worked at the Johns Hopkins applied physics Lab in D.C. I definitely don't regret getting on the wrong train, and I plan on doing it much more often.

I finally arrived on campus just in time to join in on some ice breaker activities with the roughly 25 people doing the Habitat for Humanity Pre-orientation with me. Even just sitting on The Beach (the main green) with my new-found friends, I really started to feel like this could be my home for the next four years. This year, my freshman year, is going to be the best, and I look forward to all that I'll learn, all that I'll see, and all that I'll be.

Hello!

Hello there! Welcome to my new blog. From here, avid reader, you'll be able to follow along as I document my adventures to Charm City and beyond!

Next Friday, I will be departing West Monroe, LA, leaving behind my fantastic friends and wonderful family, and hopping on a plane up to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. Although I am extremely nervous to be living on my own and fending for myself, I greatly anticipate starting this new chapter in my life. I am going to meet exciting new people and see exciting new sights and do exciting new things, and I can't wait to share them all with you. Look forward to my next post, in which I will share my last week in Monroe, my farewells, and my journey to the grand city of Baltimore!