The Beginning

Hello!  My name is Laura Woodside, and I am a native of Greenville, SC!  You might be thinking, "Why would she want to go to college in her hometown?"  The truth is, I can't help that the best university is just 30 minutes away from my childhood home!

Good Ole B-Well

In early July, I found out who my random roommate was and where we would be calling home for the next year. My roommate, Lacey, and I were a little surprised to be in the "Dreaded Blackwell" because it was last on our list of preferred residence halls.  In Blackwell, beds are bunked, the floors are tile instead of carpet, and the rooms are smaller.  However, we decided to make the best of Blackwell, and have been pleasantly surprised by a few things.  First, the bathrooms.   The other SoHo (South Housing) residence halls may have bigger carpeted rooms, but our hall bathrooms are far superior to their hall bathrooms.  Our sinks are brand new, our showers are nicer, and our bathrooms are just bigger in general.  As much as you probably want to see a picture of the bathroom, I will refrain because my hall-mates might not approve of me posting pictures of our bathroom on the internet!  Second, the storage space.  While Blackwell dorms are smaller, they are an incredibly efficient in their use of storage space.  I love having the shelves above my desk to display photographs, store books, and use bins to make my clutter disappear.  Third, everything about the "Blackwell community" is true.  It is often said that Blackwell residents form awesome friendships simply because the small rooms force you keep your door wide open for new friends to pop in and say hello.  In just the short week we have been on campus, the girls on my hall and I have already formed wonderful friendships!  It is no longer the "Dreaded Blackwell," now it's the "Good Ole B-Well."

The cars are packed!



Lacey and I in our new room!

Look at all that storage space!

The bunk beds- they really aren't that bad!



My hall girls!



Move-In Day

While most move-in days seem to be full stress and emotions, ours was surprisingly easy!  A swarm of upperclassmen surrounded my car and grabbed all the boxes and bags and carried them to my room.  It took them less than twelve minutes for them to completely unload the two full cars of stuff I brought and delivered it to my dorm room!  (Yes, I did time them, because I was so impressed!)

O-Week

It's hard to describe everything we did during O-Week, but the O-Staff certainly kept us busy and entertained!  One of my favorite activities was the Carnival.  O-Staff transformed the parking lot next to Chapel into a Carnival, complete with funnel cakes, a Ferris Wheel, a swing ride, blow-up slides and obstacle courses, and other fun activities!

Not my finest photography skills, but you can see all of the rides in the background

First Day of Classes
None of my classes were as intimidating as I thought they would be! I'm taking Chemistry, Spanish, Calculus, and my freshman seminar, Management Literacy. I'm sure I will be studying a lot this semester!

All smiles for the first day of school!





My morning commute... I could get used to this!