So that there is my room. I live on the third floor of Maple Hall, the new residence hall on campus. My roommate TJ is awesome. We share a bathroom with two guys next door. But despite the extravagance of getting to live in a brand new building, I can’t help but say that residence life is one of the few things that has disappointed me at Mines. It isn’t a big disappointment; it’s just that I haven’t gotten to know any of the guys on my floor very well. And that is something that is completely my fault, considering I live with all of them. I should make more of an effort to branch out around here. If I could do freshman year over I would rather live in the traditional residence halls. They’re smaller, and don’t come with private bathrooms, but I think they make it easier to get to know the people you live with.

Despite this, it isn’t really a big deal, because I have gotten involved and made many friends elsewhere at Mines! The most significant thing I am involved in is that I joined a fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta, also known as Fiji. My fellow blogger Ramiro also happens to be a Fiji too. Last semester I was a pledge and when I came back to school for second semester I initiated as a full brother. Fiji is a blast because it has helped me to meet all sorts of people who now form the core of my social life around here. Just last night our entire chapter went to Beau Jo’s Pizza in Idaho Springs, and it was fantastic to eat great pizza with so many great friends. I like that Fiji has helped me to meet many upperclassmen. Instead of just talking to other freshmen, I have become friends with many people who have been around the school for a few years, and it is great to have people that I can go to for advice and to ask questions.

Mines has a reputation as being a tough school, and that is true but it isn’t unbearable. I do spend a lot of time studying, but I don’t mind because I really like all the things I’m getting to learn about here. Last semester I took Honors Calculus III, Physics I, Intro to Biology, CSM 101, PA 101 and Nature and Human Values. CSM 101 is a freshman orientation course. PA is physical activities—we can’t call it PE because around here that stands for Petroleum Engineering. It basically consists of lots of dodgeball. NHV is an English/ethics class that everyone has to take. Calc III was my favorite class because math is basically the greatest thing ever, but I also liked NHV a lot because it was a small class and we got to have discussions about the topics we covered. That made it easier to get to know the people in there—that’s how I met two of my best friends here, Chelsea and Trevor.