In September, I went to six informationals, filled out five applications, and had four interviews, all to get into a freshmen leadership organization, or a FLO. Now, nearly nine months later, my camera roll is filled with memories from FLEX functions, I have been exposed to so many new things, and have a new family.
For those who are unfamiliar with FLOs, they are leadership organizations that are exclusively for freshmen members and lead by sophomores and upperclassmen. In these organizations, freshmen get to expand their network and participate in and organize social and service events. Texas A&M has 19 FLOs, but this year I got to be a part of the greatest one, FLEX, or Freshman Leaders Establishing Excellence (yes, we know that is technically FLEE, but FLEX sounds so much cooler). And being a part of this organization has been the best thing about my freshman year. Being in a leadership organization has obvious benefits such as giving freshmen something to put on their resume, leadership experiences, and a way to get involved on campus, but it has also done so much more for me.
Being in FLEX has not only given me friends but it has given me a family and a support system I could have never imagined. FLEX takes 78 unique freshmen who are from all different places and have different majors. This has given me the chance to meet so many people I would have never thought I would ever encounter. These people have not only become my best friends, but people who have introduced me to new things, taught me many life lessons, and have had such a positive impact on my life.
FLEX has also given me a large support system to lean on. Going to college is a huge transition and sometimes, especially in the beginning, it can be scary trying to find your way around a 5,200-acre campus and around over 66,000 students. Now with FLEX I can go pretty much anywhere on campus and expect to see a friendly face that is guaranteed to make my day better. More importantly, FLEX is made up of people who have a wide range of strengths, so I know for anything I need whether its help on coding, someone to read over my applications, someone to make me laugh when I’m stressed, or give me a pep talk before a test, there is always someone around who is happy to help.
FLEX brought me my unexpected diverse group of best friends, mentors, future roommates, and role models. Now that my freshman year in FLEX is ending, coming out of it I want to thank everyone who was a part of it and helped contribute to an amazing experience. And if a future Texas A&M Aggie is reading this, my advice is to go to all those informationals, write all those applications, and get involved in a FLO (rush FLEX) because it will change your life.
