So as I said in my first entry, these blogs are going to attempt to "give you some insight into the life of a 19-year-old, up-and-coming NASCAR driver who (tries really hard) to balance racing and his life as a Duke University freshman." In light of that, this blog is going to switch gears in a big way, just as my life has. After a week of racing immersion last week, I've had to change hats from "race car driver" to "student." Both lives are equally as eventful!

I arrived back at Duke last Sunday around 3 in the afternoon, just as my peers were arriving back from their Spring Break. Something about walking into my dorm room felt like "coming home." My first thought was, "Wow, it's weird that my dorm room is like home. Does that make me a nerd?"

As much as I do wear the cap of "student" here at Duke, I don't believe I play the role that most people assume students play.

My next thought began an argument inside my head: "No, it doesn't make you a nerd. You sleep here every night. Your clothes and personal belongings are here. It is home!" Not that being a nerd is a bad thing, but I'm not a nerd for calling school "home," am I?

I spent the remainder of Sunday unpacking, getting myself organized, and reviewing what I had on my plate for the week. The religion with the highest statistical representation on campus is Catholicism, which has resulted in a vibrant and active Catholic community under the organization of the Newman Catholic Student Center. I'm an active member of the group, currently serving as the social activities coordinator. Before I got to Duke, which is a Methodist school, the on-campus chapel became inter-denominational. Because of that, we are able to hold mass there every Sunday night at 9 p.m. I ended my Sunday at mass -- a great way to end one week and start the next -- and got ready for the week ahead.

When Monday morning came, I had to get back into student mode pretty quickly, as I had a short assignment for my Writing 20 course (mandatory course for all Duke freshman) due on Monday afternoon. I got that done in the morning, went to all of my classes, and began to sort through all of the e-mails that I had fallen behind on over break. When I get around race cars, they tend to really hold my attention over everything else, so if I wasn't doing something to try and make our NAPA AutoCare Toyotas faster over my Spring Break, I was probably sleeping, resulting in a lag in my response to e-mails.

I got through with that on Monday evening and headed to a weekly Bible study that I participate in through another on-campus Christian group that I'm involved in, Campus Crusade for Christ. Affectionately referred to as "Cru," it's how I have met many of my good friends -- including my roommate for next year. We studied Philippians 2:1-5, which made for some extremely interesting discussion amongst our group of 12 guys. After that, I got a few other things done and headed for bed.

As much as I do wear the cap of "student" here at Duke, I don't believe I play the role that most people assume students play. If I were to describe Duke in a single word, I would undoubtedly use the word "engaging." (Continued)