Bang! Bang! Bang! My dorm room door shook. "Up and at 'em!" someone shouted through the door. "It's Chaos Day!" Bleary eyed, I squinted at my clock. 5:00 am. It was too early for me to care what "Chaos Day" was. The door rattled again. "Come on!" the voice yelled. This time a siren blared through the door. "OK," I called back. "We're up." I glanced over at my roommate's bed. It was already empty. Just then, the bathroom door swung open and my roommate, Allison, flipped on the lights. I shielded my eyes from the burn of the florescent glare. "What is Chaos Day anyway?" I mumbled, still half asleep. "It's part of orientation," Allison explained. "I heard it's the battle of the dorms and you play all sorts of cool games like tug-of-war and tag to show off your dorm pride." It didn't sound like much fun to me. I'd been on campus for three days; I didn't have much pride yet in my dorm: Bolts Hines Timmer. And honestly, I thought the whole Chaos Day thing sounded a little lame. Ever since arriving on campus a few days ago, I'd been going nonstop. I'd met with a ton of professors, talked to my adviser, and tried to get used to finding my way around campus. I was exhausted and I missed my family. I didn't feel like playing silly games with a bunch of strangers. All I wanted to do was sleep, unpack, and then call my mom. I was surprised to discover that I wasn't the only one who'd felt totally lost and a little homesick. But Allison wouldn't take no for an answer. She ripped the covers off my bed. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of my dorm with a hundred other freshmen making an orange and white tie-dyed T-shirt. A resident assistant (RA) explained that it was a tradition for everyone in the dorm to wear matching shirts on Chaos Day. I tried to pretend that I was excited about it. But really, I felt totally out of place—even if I was dressed like everyone else. The only thing that put me at ease was standing next to Allison. I'd just met her a few days ago, but we'd really hit it off. She was super friendly and easy to talk to. Besides Allison, I hadn't really connected with anyone. I scanned the crowd and recognized a few faces from around campus, but I didn't really know anyone's name. Suddenly, Allison spotted someone who'd gone to her high school. "I'll be right back," she promised. I watched as she disappeared in the crowd. Even though I was surrounded by girls from my floor, I felt totally alone. I looked down at my orange fingertips and couldn't help but wish that I was back home. I couldn't wait for Chaos Day to be over so I could go back to my room and call my mom. Just then, a group of students from another dorm, Schultze Eldersveld, barreled up a path toward us. They waved their fists in the air and chanted, "Schultze! Eldersveld!" "What are they saying?" I asked the girl next to me. "That's their dorm's name," she said. "Look! They're taunting us!" A group of guys from my dorm started shouting our dorm's name: "Bolt! Hines! Timmer!" People pumped their fists in the air like we were at crazy fans at a Final Four basketball tournament. At first, I just watched everybody else, not really sure what to do. But before I knew what I was doing, I joined in chanting with a drum-like cadence. I suddenly had this weird feeling of dorm pride. The excitement was contagious. When the people from Schultze Eldersveld passed by, we went back to dying our T-shirts. "I'm sorry," I said to the girl next to me. "I think you live on my floor, but I can't remember your name." "I'm Kim," she said enthusiastically. "I have the same problem. We've been going nonstop, I can barely remember my own name!" Kim was funny and easy to talk to. We seemed to become instant friends. While our shirts dried, we joined the rest of the girls from our floor and ate breakfast on the lawn in front of the dorm. It was the first time we were all together. Conversation and laughter came easy for us all. I was surprised to discover that I wasn't the only one who'd felt totally lost and a little homesick. As we sat and talked and laughed over our donuts, I felt like I was not only connecting with people, I was making real friends. Instead of feeling scared and homesick, I suddenly felt excited. I felt like I fit in. As I listened to Kim tell another joke, I discovered I was actually really thankful for orientation. After breakfast everyone from the dorm changed into our tie-dye shirts. And then we painted white and orange war paint on our faces. "OK!" my RA, Kristy, yelled. "Let's roll." The RAs waved a banner with our dorm's name on it and we all marched behind them to the campus soccer field. The students from the other six dorms were already there, lined up, ready for battle. Someone blew a whistle and everyone erupted into whoops and hollers. First up was the tug-of-war. "Amy," Kristy yelled. "We need you to represent our floor. Think you can do it?" "I'm feeling strong," I grinned. I followed the other guys and girls to the middle of the field and grabbed on to the rope. "Ladies and gentlemen," the person in charge called, "you really don't want to lose this one." He smiled and pulled a tarp off a hole filled to the brim with mud. Everyone groaned. I grimaced. "You can do it," Kristy called out. "Be strong! Be Brave! You're Bolt Hines Timmer!" "Ready, set, go!" The whistle blew. I clutched the rope and dug into the ground with my heels. My heart pounded as we yanked back and forth. Suddenly, the rope slid through my hand, burning my palms. As our opponents yanked on the rope, my feet slipped out from under me. I toppled into the mud pit along with the rest of my team. "Can I help you out?" a guy asked, reaching out his hand to me. "Thanks," I said, grabbing his hand. "You look really familiar. Have I seen you around the English department?" "Yeah, probably," he said. "That's my major." "Mine too," I said, plopping down and shaking the mud out of my shoes. After quickly comparing course schedules, we discovered we had two classes together. I felt relieved to know I would recognize at least one friendly face on the first day of class. As the day wore on, I met more and more people. Even though I played a lot of the games, I spent a ton of time just getting to know people. Honestly, I can't remember if my dorm won or lost. I'm not even sure if anyone kept score. What I do know is this: That morning, I felt like a total stranger on campus. And by the afternoon, I was slowly starting to feel like I belonged. After Chaos Day, Allison, Kim, and I walked back to the dorm together. And it felt a little bit more like home. Amy is a graduate of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine.
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