August 25th had arrived.  The first day at Gordon College was in our midst. This time on campus was known an orientation.  Despite the hustle of all the activity going on here on campus, there was an order to how things were set up.  We each were part of the orientation group .My group was led by an upper-classmen named Andrew.  As our group circled up, Andrew introduced himself, followed by the rest of the group.  Having a relaxed tone, I was very comfortable.  Andrew then directed our group to unpack our bags in our dorm rooms and return for 2:00.      

          I grabbed the one bag I had with me and hustled back to my dorm.  Upon entering, I quickly threw my bag on the floor.  Tearing it open, I was in the search for one thing.  I needed paper and pen.  Finally coming across a notepad, I took the pen lying on the desk and began my frantic scribble.  Ok, I knew orientation leader was Andrew.  I wrote this down, with a brief physical description.  The girl with brown hair, I thought I remembered her saying that her name was Jen.  I wrote this down, followed by a small question mark.  I remembered the guy with buzzed hair, his name was Brian.  I could remember that easy….Brian with buzzed hair….B, B.  Feeling empowered, I remembered one more name and description.  This was a good start, for my new community and my new home.

          Upon time spent in my dorm, I was able to unpack a lot of things.  I set up my desk, my books and my folders.  I had made my bed and put the extra sheets away.  Things were looking good until I frantically realized it was 1:50pm.  I had to be back at the chapel for 2:00 to meet my orientation group.  I quickly grabbed my bag and a jacket, in case it got cool.  I made my way back to the chapel.  As I saw a familiar face, I realized that I had left the notepad in my dorm.  Oh no!!  What was her name?  Recollection of these new names was hard, given the location of my brain injury.  The right side of the brain is swollen, being the area for this new information that is learned.  This is what made it difficult to find her name.  I reluctantly had to ask for her name again, learning for the second time that it was Megan.  I apologized and then quickly wrote it down.  Next time I will know it…hopefully.