Well, I made it! I survived my first year of college at Arizona State University in Tempe. In fact, this past year has been one of the best experiences of my life. It was a year spent meeting a lot of different people, living on my own and (let's not forget) studying as much as possible.

I moved into my college dorm in the middle of August 1998, and it was a bit nerve-wracking (lots of boxes, 100-degree weather, new faces, anticipation of what was to come). I've lived in the same community all of my life where most everyone knew who I was and vice versa. Now I was to live in a place where every face I saw belonged to a stranger. What would they think of me? I was going to have to explain my whole life story all over again, including why I had a motorized scooter outside my room.

These were thoughts running through my head as my parents and I started out from San Diego, and they were still with me as I was moving in. But these fears didn't last too long.

The first person I saw was my roommate, Kristin Robertson, whom I'd met a few weeks earlier. She and I had lot of important decisions to make. Which side of the room did each of us want? Where should we put the stereo and the television set? We had to put our whole room together the way we both would want it because we were going to live there together for the next nine months. I was very lucky to be placed with someone with whom I got along so well.

Next, of course, I had to meet my neighbors next door and across the hall. The girls next door were really nice and just as scared to be there as I was. The boys across the hall (Yep, that's right, boys living only 5 feet away. Yikes!) were blasting their stereo so loud I couldn't hear myself think. But they turned out to be really cool, too.

In fact, all of the people living close to me turned out to be my very best friends. Naturally, they had their questions for me about why I needed assistance to get from class to class or why people from MDA kept calling me. But I found it easy to confide in them and comforting to know that they wanted to know all about me.

ASU is a very big campus. I've had a manual wheelchair since I was 8 years old but here I needed something motorized to get from place to place independently. With the help of MDA, my parents were able to purchase a scooter.

At first, I didn't want it. I thought I could do everything on my own. I wanted to ride a bike around campus but my parents felt it was too dangerous for me. Well, it turns out that my parents were right and the scooter came in handy not only for me but for my friends as well. In fact, I think my friends rode in it more than I did. That's where all of the scratches on it came from. They thought it was extremely fun.

I have so many fond memories of my first year of college. I'll always remember watching "Dawson's Creek," "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Party of Five" on Wednesday nights with Kristin and my friends next door. I'll never forget walking through the halls of my dorm and seeing someone talking on the phone outdoors because it was too loud in their room. And, of course, I'll never forget all the time I spent talking and acting crazy with all of these guys until 4 o'clock in the morning.

Then there was learning to manage my time so I could balance all this fun with academics. I found college classes definitely challenging, especially preparing for midterms and finals. My laptop computer was in constant use writing essays for English, researching on the Internet and e-mailing my professors to get updates on classes and assignments.

Everyone always told me that the college years are supposed to be the best time of your life. As of right now, I have no arguments to that. I just hope my next three years at ASU will be half as wonderful as my first.

I learned some things from my first year of college that I wasn't necessarily expecting. One is that, although I have a horrible disease that affects my life in many ways, I'm still capable of taking care of myself. I realized just how important it is for me to be independent of my parents and friends.

Being away from those who've looked after me for so many years -- though a little scary at first -- has made me a stronger person.

My advice to others with neuromuscular diseases who are entering college is to do as much as you can on your own and to be strong in every way possible. The people you meet for the first time will see the courage you possess and look past your physical weaknesses.

It's summer now and I have to get a few things done in San Diego before I start my second year of school. I completed a three-week political science course at San Diego State University and observed and helped out at KUSI, MDA's "Love Network" station in San Diego. This experience gave me an inside look at a future in broadcasting.

August has been a very busy month for me. After going to New Orleans with MDA for the Kappa Alpha fraternity convention, I got back home just in time for my older sister, Cory's, wedding.

The next time you hear from me I hope I'll be just as satisfied with my life and the choices I've made as I am now. And I hope all of you feel as blessed as I do.