The Fall Welcome week experience

Throughout the semester, a select group of ASU freshmen will be blogging about their first year as Sun Devils. In the same way that graduation serves as a milestone marker for both students and the university, the freshman year experience is one of significant formation as it sets the foundation for academic excellence. 

Chelsea's blog:

For those who don’t know me, my name is Chelsea Medbury. Maybe you've seen me walking around, or talked to me. I don’t know if you know this, but I am deaf. I wasn’t born with it, but I fell when I was little and hit my head and lost my hearing. It's not something that I try to broadcast, but I do want others to realize that I sometimes miss things every now and then. I think that this blog will hopefully change people’s perceptions of what it's like to be deaf because although I'm not your typical college student, I am here at ASU having the typical college experience.

I have been told that the Barrett, the Honors College dorms are the best dorms to live in on the Tempe campus. So naturally, that's where I chose to stay. When moving day came, I felt anxious, excited and nervous all at the same time.  The movers were awesome. They moved over thousands of students’ stuff throughout the day, over a period of days, in the hot sun. After moving in, I checked out the dining hall. The food is so good that I switched my 14 meals per week plan to the unlimited meal plan.

Fall Welcome week was a blast, and it was a time that will never be forgotten. There were so many fun events, from whitewashing the "A" on A mountain to the Dierks Bently/Chingy concert to the tiki luau. Whitewashing was so much fun, although I have never sweated so much in my life as I waited in line to get my hands on the “A.” The concert was a great time because you got the best of both worlds, a hip-hop star and a country singer. And the Student Recreation Complex (SRC) fields, which hosted the tiki luau, were packed with students who were enjoying the free food and music and taking the time to meet new people.

Chelsea Medbury is an incoming freshman who is majoring in exploratory health and life sciences. She is originally from St. Louis, Mo.