I like to think that my involvement with Team Terry 5 started with a container of brownies. Food can bring people together in positive ways as well as negative ways (waiting in line for over an hour for a piece of cotton candy during Dawg Daze).
​
Brownies are relatively easy to make, hard to mess up, and hard to dislike. As a very shy and introverted person I had anxiety about how I would fit into my new community, so my mom suggested I reach out to people with a purpose--in this case, the purpose was sharing food. Even though I was a big seventeen year-old, I walked up to the first door nervously. I introduced myself and offered a brownie. From there on it got easier. Some people did not offer introductions (in which case I requested one), and some did not want brownies, but I quickly got acquainted with my floor and felt more of a sense of belonging and ownership. After that I was confident enough to sit in the floor study lounge, and made sure I introduced myself to people I didn't know. It was an interesting evolution to watch and be a part of, from a group of freshmen all new and nervous, to a close-knit community who looked out for each other and took care of each other like I'd never experienced before.