Active Rain is Like a Big Co-Ed Dorm

As I was drifting off to sleep last night, I started thinking about what makes Active Rain so fun, and I think I hit on something.  I remember that during my first semester of college, I had the opportunity to re-invent myself.  The same is true here at Active Rain.  I can choose to be a cheerful, optimistic contributor here, or I can choose to lurk in the shadows and never comment or write posts. 

I attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, which is a small, liberal-arts school with about 1200 students.  It is an expensive private school, and the only way that my family could afford it was via scholarship and financial aid, as my mom and stepdad were both social workers. 

Since there were only 13 students in my graduating class in high school, I felt more comfortable with a smaller, more intimate environment.  By the way, I graduated 3^rd in my high school class, in case you were wondering. 

At any rate, I still recall the exhilarating feelings I had when I started my freshman year at Southwestern.  I talked to everyone and knew everyone by name pretty quickly.  I realized yesterday that I am handling myself pretty much the same way here, and why not?  Those of you reading this have the ability to send me money in the form of referrals, and I will strive to do the same for you.

I have always been competitive by nature, which is one reason that I "hit the ground running" recently, when I figured out what was being offered here.  The points system is genius, as it rewards those who are actually doing something.  You can't "buy your way to the top", as it were. 

Speaking of competitive, I was snubbed by the fraternity I wanted to join in college, because they didn't want to accept my best friend and they assumed that I wouldn't join without him.  I can't honestly say if they were right or not, but that was a painful experience for me.  What did I do with that pain?  Did I let it affect me for very long?  Not really - I decided to start my own fraternity, and we were later chartered with a national group (Delta Chi).  I can't honestly say that I have always been a "make lemonade out of lemons" guy, but I managed to get 12 other guys to join me on that adventure in my sophomore year. 

The social environment here is very upbeat and friendly, like those early college years.  I am really getting to know some of you, and hopefully you are getting to know me as well.  In school, random people used to drop by my dorm room throughout the day, men and women alike.  We were always open to guests then, and I am always open to your comments here now. 

Thanks for taking time to read my thoughts.  Feel free to comment - maybe you can start to re-invent yourself!