Coming into college, I wasn't sure what I expected. I was accepted to Alabama last November and moved here in early August for sorority recruitment. Since that week, I feel like life has flown by so fast that everything has been a blur.

The first weekend on campus I was taken on a new member retreat with my new sorority pledge class where some of the older girls gave us a lot of college advice. They shared stories, both good and bad, and told us what to expect. They kept telling us that our first semester was going to be crazy, but it wasn't until I started to experience things for my own that I understood what they meant.

I knew people partied in college, but I never really considered myself a party person...until I found myself and my new friends at a party literally every other night for the first few weeks of this semester. It was a whole new world to me. I didn't have an older sibling to tell me about college, so I really was having to experience everything on my own. Honestly, a couple years ago I looked at college kids like they were responsible students with their lives together. And in some cases, that's really true. I have so many friends who are wild as ever, but still have a plan for their future and never skip class.

But my first few weeks of college, I also met people who weren't focused on school whatsoever, and it blew my mind.

I've had so many memorable nights already, from simple frat parties to my friends and I ending up on a stage for concerts (that's another story). The freedom you gain the second you move to college, is so refreshing, especially after growing up in a strict home. You're suddenly allowed to do absolutely whatever you want, which goes to show because everyone loses their minds the first few weekend of college.

The freedom almost gets to your head at first, but you learn to be responsible fast. on your own without people watching after you.

I feel like I've become a new person since I moved here. I've learned to go out and have a good time and still work a job and manage all A's in my classes. My friends and I go out every weekend and stay out late, but are still up for early mornings when we need to be. The strangers who I met and hung out with my first few nights in Tuscaloosa have grown to be my best friends because of all of the nights we've already spent together. My new friends are from literally all over the country, and it's awesome.

I've learned so many lessons about life and relationships already, and although college has brought me some pretty heavy stress at moments and some rough nights, it's also brought me some of the best nights and best new friends I could ask for.

As my first semester is coming to a close, I've made some of the best memories, and up until this point, I honestly wouldn't want to change a thing.