By MELISSA MITCHELL
Staff Writer
 

The second day was better, but not by much. I went to several orientation meetings, skipping only one to go to the Auburn Mall. The roadtrip and block party were a fun and interesting way o meet people. I am over a few of he fears I had the day before "Playfair". That night helped a lot. I got to meet lots of people and realized that I was not the only one who felt alone and scared.

On Monday I attended a Multiculturalism discussion which really opened my eyes. I grew up in a small own, predominately white, where everybody knew everybody else. There was a Native American Reservation outside of the town and I grew up, also, amongst a lot of hatred. I am slowly discovering that the lives of others are different than mine and that everybody has an interesting story to tell.

That night my house went to the Chase Hall Crawl, after-which a few of us went back to my room and stayed up all night discussing our lives with one another. I sat and listened for the most part; I was not yet ready to tell people I had just met all about my life. Listening to my new friends tell about their lives, trials and tribulations really was great. I realize now that I am not the only one with insecurities about college and that everyone has fears their first year. The trip to the beach on Tuesday was refreshing. Hearing the sound of pounding surf and seagulls made me feel at ease and I came back with the feeling that life at Bates was going to be alright after all.