This past week I was allowed the pleasure of being an orientation leader for one of the largest freshmen classes Converse has had in a number of years. Our orientation theme was "Where Does the Purple Road Lead?" And throughout the 5 to 6 days of orientation we wanted to push the freshmen out of their comfort zones to find where their personal college road will lead them. This question is not one that can be answered completely during orientation. I am still asking myself that and I am sure there are plenty of seniors asking themselves that question. Being an orientation leader was an amazing and exhausting job. We had a long week of training and then three days of heavy lifting while assisting move-in. We had early mornings and late nights all while trying to make this transition a little easier. For some freshmen, I saw they made friends very easily and were excited about the new found freedom they possessed. Others were a little more apprehensive about being away from home. These and all other emotions are completely normal. I met athletes, biology majors, interior design majors, fellow music majors, and colleges most popular--undecided! All of these ladies shared the same wide-eyed curiousness that I remember the Class of 2015 sharing just two years ago. And besides bonding with my Lil Sis class I also received the chance to bond with members from the sophomore, junior, and senior classes. I mean how can you not bond over carrying a loft to the fifth floor?
During orientation I spent a large amount of time with eighteen ladies in particular. A fellow orientation leader, Maria, and our small group of 17 discussed everything from what to expect with classes and the traditions and events on campus to acting out Princess and the Frog or a schizophrenic person during charades. These 18 ladies, including Maria, even though rather quiet as a whole had a very large influence on me. Watching them I realized how far I had come on my own personal purple road. I was the quiet girl who never raised her hand or volunteered to participate, but now because of Converse I am someone who would take risks and ask questions. I want to be their cheerleader, their shoulder to cry on, and their protector. I want to see them become SGA presidents, star athletes, a leading lady in a play, and anything else they could imagine. I hope that I get the chance to stay in contact with these lovely ladies so that I may see how they grow and watch who they become. I will forever be their sister's keeper. Thank you Sarah Kate and Caroline Wham for giving me this opportunity.
Whenever we think of summer our minds immediately go to school's out, tanning, travel, and summer love. But is summer all it's cracked up to be? As each summer pasts I begin to love and hate summer more strongly than the last. Getting a break from all the coursework and trying to become not transparently pale is always enjoyable. And having Say Yes to the Dress marathons with mom makes each Friday after working at the local Piggly Wiggly wonderful. But after being off at college for two years I've begun to experience a sadness to summer vacation. In high school I had a group of about eight best friends, and we've kept in touch as we all go our separate ways. But this summer was different. We didn't all hang out together, there was less to reminisce about, and we began to hang out in smaller groups versus everybody together. Parents are always saying that some friends come and go and that college is where you find the friends that you will stay in touch with forever. Maybe this is true, but it always hurts when the people you pictured growing old in a nursing home with start to drift away. And change is probably the least popular part of growing up. I still love deeply the eight friends that I spent much of my adolescence with, but have had to come to the realization that it is not the lack of effort on either side to connect. At Christmas parties cookies and presents are swapped and stories about college are exchanged. Through these moments a comforting feeling returns and it's like we never left high school. These are the moments I will always cherish and look forward to watching their lives change and grow. Friendships are much like changes in seasons, high school may have been an eternal summer for my group of friends. College has been a different season for us and as we enter adulthood a new season will begin again. I hope that through the changes one thing will remain the same--our friendship. As I enter my third year at Converse College in a few weeks I can't wait to hear about the exciting events in each of my friends lives and look forward to an evolving friendship for the group of us in the coming years.
"Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. The older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young."
On July 31st I exited my teenager years and entered the somewhat scary door to adulthood. I am now TWENTY years old and you want to know how I feel. The same. I feel exactly the same as I did six days ago when I was nineteen. I know that no one feels completely different the day they turn a year older but there is so much hype about your twenties being the best time of your life. I was hoping for this magical feeling of "yes these are going to be the best ten years of your life" but sadly that feeling has yet to hit. Maybe it's because I'm secretly a thirty year old trapped in a twenty year old body or maybe it's because all the people telling us these are the best years of our lives are 30 plus.
What I do know, is that six days ago I was just as lost about what I want to be when I "grow up" and I still have no idea who I will marry or where I will live. All those games of M*A*S*H in middle school did not predict my future. Some people tell us twenty-somethings that now is the time to make mistakes and relish in the fact that we have no idea what we are doing EVER! However there are a few who say these years are not just for goofing off. An article on Levo League, Your Twenties, quotes a psychologist saying that "EIGHTY percent of life's most defining moments take place by about age 35." So with that knowledge in mind, what are somethings I want to do in my twenties? Well I'd like to be able to see in to the future, but sadly I must put my faith in God and know that I will get where I need to be. Perhaps I am too comfortable where I am to experience the magical feeling I want. Converse College's Dean of Students urges us to break into our "red zone" and try different things. It is only by learning that we can discover who we are. So I am going to start doing one thing that brings me completely out of my comfort zone each month. Any suggestions for August?
