Arboreal

For my second year, I got to move in with some of the best friends I had made the previous year…

Travis, Luc, Justin and I lived in West 116.  It was a tiny space for four tall guys and a lot of junk.  At 6'2" I was the shortest one, and between us, we owned the gear for most any outdoor sport you can try to do in Iowa.  Hunting gear, a snowboard, skis, and rock climbing gear took up the spaces left around the giant maroon leather hide-a-bed.  There were also three or four longboards at any given time, two dorm fridges, and a coffeemaker that was vital to our mission of hosting as many people as possible every Saturday afternoon.

Because of the limited space, things were stacked high. My favorite memory of Travis was him standing on a chair to reach the coffeemaker, excitedly telling a story one evening.  He was wearing boxers and maybe socks.  Suddenly he realized that the curtains were open and our room was right next to the building's main entrance.  It was even more funny than the time some of the girls pranked us by swapping girls' clothes with ours, and he tried some very tight pants on with hilarious results.

Luc met his future wife that year (I'm shooting their wedding this year), Travis had a girl from back home, and Justin even got a senior to date him, though it wouldn't last long after her graduation.  And me?  I continued my freshman frenzy.  I was a big man on campus, WOW leader and apparently a funny guy.  She was a freshman who laughed at my jokes.  I fell hard.  After Tri-State I convinced her to date me.  We had some great times, learned a lot, then she moved on.  And that was good too.  Now, I'm blessed to have a third little sister.

What else happened that year?  Oh yeah, trip to the Philippines with Volkers and crew, no big deal right!  PLIA in Toronto.  Declared my second major, graphic design.  

Our RA, Adam, had been in my PC group.  We started to develop a friendship he talked me into applying for Residence Life.  I am still thankful for that, as the job would enable me to return to Dordt for my third year, and turn my Junior year upside-down- but that's a story for next time.