Fire Shut Up in My Bones

After graduation, Blow is accepted to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge on a full academic scholarship. But despite his desire to get far away from the ghosts of his hometown, he eventually opts for the historically Black Grambling State University, a campus much closer to home. There, he double majors in English and Pre-Law. The college environment causes old anxieties to resurface, and Blow begins to withdraw socially. Academically, however, Grambling’s discussions of race and social justice “lit a fire in me” (159). Realizing that in a class of 3,000 he could easily fade into the woodwork, Blow decides to run for class president. With a bank loan to finance his campaign, he works tirelessly, posting flyers and shaking hands. He wins by a landslide. Apart from advocating for the freshman class, his duties include mingling with donors and the other class presidents, all of whom are desperate to pledge a fraternity. With the pressure to join from his friend Chopper, a member of the “Pretty Boys” fraternity, Blow decides to pledge.

For the time being, however, he lives in a dorm. Despite being entitled to the Honors dorm, he requests a room in the freshman dorm. After initially being paired with a surly individual convicted of crimes in the past, Blow changes his room assignment.