During winter break of this past school year, one of my friends from high school made a comment when I saw her that I was different than I used to be. After that, and over the course of the rest of my freshman year, I started to notice that she actually thought that, and that she considered it a bad thing.
If you are naïve enough to believe that you, or anybody else, are going to be the same exact person at the end of two semesters of college that you were all through high school, then you have something else coming for you.
Two semesters of college. So much can happen in just two semesters of college. When you first step on campus in the heat of August while moving into your dorm room, you have no idea what to expect. You have no idea what is about to be thrown your way. You are thrown into the deep end and expected to be an Olympic swimmer.
And somehow you do it. You adjust. You learn how to survive college. It may not be the first day or first week or even in the first two months, but you get there.
I’ve also heard my fair share of backlash due to joining Greek life. I get it; it’s not for everyone. But it is for me. I love it with my whole heart and it has made my college experience 10 times greater than I ever could have imagined and I am so thankful for that. I would not be who I am without it. I know that’s saying a lot, since I haven’t even been in it for a full calendar year, but the results of being surrounded by 300 incredible women every single day show more than words can describe. The point of this article is not to get all gushy over my sorority. There are enough of those. The point is that my sorority and being a Panhellenic woman has challenged and changed me for the better. The amount of opportunities I have had presented to me in such a short time is unreal. I am doing things in college I never thought I would do (like writing for Odyssey).
College is all about stepping out of your comfort zone, and when you do take that leap forward, great things happen. I met so many people my first year who taught me so much, and it's almost unfathomable that they once weren't even in my life.
So, yes, I am different than I was in high school, but I have changed for the better. I have gained new perspectives. I have met people who changed my outlook on things. I am working towards the best version of me and I’m not there yet, but I’m closer than I was when I started college. I have changed. I changed into someone who has bigger dreams than she had before. I changed into someone who has witnessed goals of hers come to fruition. I changed into someone who isn’t afraid of uncertainty anymore. I changed into someone who loves every minute of life. I have college to thank for that.
