baruch atah adonai

I've decided that for the first few weeks of dorm life, I'm going to tell my roommate(s) that I'm Jewish.

Make up fond memories about my bat mitzvah, praise them for having chutzpah, etc.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

We mailed in my Westmont housing application today, along with my deposit. The paper was really thick, and stiff, and wouldn't fold into the envelope properly.

I went to Seattle over the weekend and visited the University of Puget Sound campus. I don't know why I expected more from it, but it was clean, open, quiet, the buildings were all well-maintained, and the student center was exceptional.

Seattle itself was great. I'm actually upset that I had to come home (for more reasons than one).

In the beginning, there was nothing.

I had a conversation this morning with my old world history teacher, about my enrollment to Westmont. I told him about some of the questions on my housing application.

• My personal faith in Jesus Christ is best described as: (circle all that apply)


• I plan to clean and tidy my room:
  (a) every day
  (b) twice a week
  (c) once a week
  (d) once a month

I told him about the Student Life policy they make you agree to before you sign anything, which forbids any drugs, alcohol, homosexuality, or premarital sex.

I told him about how all their literature mentions something about finding yourself through Christ, or using your education to direct yourself to what Christ wants for you.

I told him about how their idea of a wild scandalous outing is sneaking into the hot tubs at the surrounding resorts ("Don't get caught!").

I told him about what my Uncle Dylan said, a Westmont alumnus himself, about how my roommate will most likely be some anal retentive white-collar I-Love-Bush type, who will ask me "what Catholics think of Christians".


We decided, at best, that my observations of the experience would be worth my time there.
And that is why I created this blog.

I've never had to spend a lot of time around people like the kind that Westmont claims as their student body. It might drive me crazy. It might be eye-opening. Either way, I'm going to share it here.


I'm potentially receiving $28,000 in loans and grants, which I feel takes the pressure off — I might actually get the chance to step back from my studies and look around. That is my hope.