Welcome to my blog, everyone!
As you may know, I am a new Freshman at Tulane University. Having started in late August, I have already experienced half of the semester with Thanksgiving Break soon approaching. Its crazy how much I have experienced in the past few months - everything from hurricanes, parties, midterms, historic presidential elections, famous speakers, and birthdays. Here is your chance to get a glimpse of how exciting Freshman year has been for me and will undoubtedly be for you!
On August 23rd, my family and I packed a 2005 Ford Explorer full with school supplies, bed linens, clothes (mostly summer clothes because New Orleans weather is amazing all year round), and other essentials like the Xbox 360. The ride from Shreveport took at least 5 hours with me basically riding on top of boxes in the back seat. But I couldn't care less how uncomfortable my seating arrangement was because just that next day I was starting a new chapter in my life.
Not knowing what was in store for me, I was filled with mostly excitement. Through the spring and summer orientations, I had met some great people that I had kept in contact with over the summer. I even met someone from Shreveport at orientation that I have kept great friends with (our picture is to the left). Tulane tends to pull people from all over the United States and the world. Only about 15% of the student population is from the state of Louisiana, so I came in knowing no one from my high school or hometown. However, I wanted this experience of something new and exciting with other people pursuing the same. I got that by going to Tulane University.
Arriving at Tulane the morning of move in day, I quickly found my room and settled my stuff in. Without my mom's help, I don't think I could have arranged everything to get my room looking nice and orderly. My roommate was there situating his stuff, too. My roommate and I actually met at a summer leadership camp the year before called Louisiana Boy's State. When we found out that we were both going to Tulane, we jumped the gun and decided to room with each
other. The rest of that week included tons of festivities such as the river cruise and other seminars to get us acquainted to university life. The best part of Welcoming Week was meeting all the new students. I quickly made friends with tons of kids that I hadn't met at orientation. Although we were quickly cut short by Hurricane Gustav, it was perhaps the most exciting week of the year.
Classes had only been held two days before Tulane mandated that all students must be evacuated. However, Tulane was on top of their game by moving all the students that didn't have transportation elsewhere to Jackson State University in Jackson, MS two days before mandatory evacuation was called for New Orleans. My hero of a father drove down after he got off work fro
m Shreveport and picked my friend and I up driving us back in the middle of the night. Fears of what occurred after Hurricane Katrina were rekindled. What became of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina created the largest service initiative in United States recent history. I among thousands of others lended our hands in service to those three years ago. I completed over 200 hours of community service in New Orleans between January of 2006 and today. This service led me back to New Orleans so that I may continue my involvement in the rebirth of one of America's most vivid and important cities. Hurricane Gustav threatened this dream, however. While I was back in Shreveport, my friend and I decided to spend our "hurrication" working in the refugee shelters in the area. To our relief, Hurricane Gustav left only a scratch on the city of New Orleans which can be attributed to work that has been done on the levees since the catastrophe three years ago. Coming back to Tulane felt like coming home.
Ever since the hurricane we have enjoyed beautiful weather, an amazing Homecoming weekend, student government elections, and great outings with friends. School has proven tough but rewarding. I love my Latin Americans Studies and Introduction to Politics classes. Getting involved on campus has helped me meet some amazing and interesting people around campus. Perhaps the most significant thing I am involved in is Undergraduate Student Government. USG is the equivalent to SGA or Student Council in other schools. It is Tulane Undergrad's governing body where we make decisions that affect the quality of life at Tulane. Running for USG was extremely competitive - there were 28 Freshman that ran with only five positions available. However, campaigning was a lot of fun for me - I was forced to meet new people. There were funny campaign slogans from the other candidates, one of which said "Vote for Duffy - we probably met at the Boot", a local bar that is popular among some students. My hard work paid off, and now I am involved in the governing process at Tulane even though I am only a Freshman.
I celebrated my 19th birthday back in September. My parents drove down and took me out to eat at Pascal's Manale, a uptown restaurant known for their BBQ shrimp. We spent the whole day together going to NOMA, New Orleans Museum of Art, and chilling in their hotel. That night, my friends took me out for a night on the town. It was a first without friends from home but it proved to be one of the most fun birthdays in recent memory.
Homecoming was another great weekend filled with festivities all week long. My parents again came down for the Parents Weekend where we enjoyed each others company by going to the Funky Metrics concert put on by Tulane. The previous night Tulane held Reel Big Fish and Benjy Davis Project, one of my favorite local bands, for a student concert. Homecoming game featured tailgating and fun with parents. My friend from New Orleans had a family tailgate that she invited us to join. I enjoyed good New Orleans food while my parents got to meet other Tulane parents. Though we lost the game against Army, my friends and I still enjoyed that evening by going downtown to hear a benefit concert by Rebirth Brass Band, an amazing New Orleans band. Overall it was a terrific experience.
Tulane has been a wonderful place for me these past few months. I am excited to blog about my experiences in order to give you a better idea of the school. I think you will agree with me that Tulane could very well be as special to you as it is for me!
nish! I came through my first semester unscathed. And ushering in the holiday season is something Tulanians do best.
But wait – NEW ORLEANS HAD REAL SNOW FALL DURING FINALS WEEK! Yes, the quads were filled with snow angels and lopsided snowmen. The palm trees throughout campus turned white for a day. While the more latitude challenged individuals such as me witnessed snow in New Orleans, we freaked out. It seriously never snows in New Orleans. Some of us thought it was a big enough deal to show our Northern friends the snow by waking them up! However, they didn’t find as amusing as us since most of them had seen it over their Thanksgiving Break. And a little FYI – the snow fell on the day of my first final after all the tedious hours stuck in the library. Coincidence – doubt it! 
