As I was waiting for my pick-up order this weekend at a popular restaurant, a girl turned to me and said, “I love your black nails. I’ll have to paint mine like that after rush, I just don’t want the girls to think I’m weird or something.” I immediately paused and for a glimpse second saw my old freshman self. I’ve been in that girl’s shoes. Anyone who has ever planned on joining an organization, whether it is a sorority/fraternity, club or sports team, has. You’re on a brand new campus, surrounded by brand new faces, and all you want is to find your niche.

I remember stepping onto campus at my first college as a freshman in North Carolina. Coming from a beach town, I was used to wearing my rainbows or vans, but here on my new campus all the girls were wearing Jack Rodgers. A shoe I had no idea about and I won’t lie, I got scared. But that one small detail freaked me out then. Rush was that week, and I was nervous about fitting in.

I know it's silly to think I worried about the shoes I wore, or for that girl to worry about her nail polish color, but I know as freshman we have all had those little worries we get when trying to find our place. Not even as freshmen, maybe you’re a transfer student (like me), just know you are not alone. Find comfort in knowing you are not the only one who has felt the first-day nerves at the beginning of a new chapter in your life.

Ladies (and even gentlemen), if you plan on joining an organization, whether it is a sorority, club, or sports team, stay true to yourself. Take it from a rising senior, and ask any upperclassman, you will find your place at your new university. Do not feel like you have to change yourself to fit in, the right group will be honored to have you, whether you wear black nail polish or not.