The first week of college for a freshman at Purdue is unlike at any other college. No other university has a week jam-packed with activities, music, and parties like Purdue. Boiler Gold Rush gives freshmen the opportunity to make lasting friendships, learn about their new home, and overall get adjusted to college life a week earlier than other students. My experience was interesting and may be relatable to yours as well.
Move-in day was extremely stressful. I had many family members crammed into one room and they all started chattering at me at the same time. Which bed did I want? Where should my laundry basket go? When was my roommate getting here? I couldn't stand being in my tiny room for more than an hour then.
Before my parents even left the campus, I got extremely homesick. Before college, I'd never moved into a new house before. Suddenly after eighteen years, I was forced to share a bathroom with fifty-one other girls I'd never met before and I had to adjust to a brand new town. To cope with the homesickness, I asked a friend to come help me get my mind off of everything, and soon I was perfectly happy again. In the short week that I've been here at Purdue, I already feel homesick.
Once BGR started, things started to pick up. I went from having nothing but free time to having absolutely none of it. My friends and I would stay up late talking and hanging out due to the lack of time. During the course of BGR, I ran through Target late at night, got lost on campus more than a few times , and I even learned how to longboard at three in the morning!
I came from a large high school of about 5,000 where many of the kids end up going to Purdue, so I was guaranteed to see a lot of friendly faces. I didn't realize how many people I'd actually recognize! My BGR group began counting how many people I knew at one of the scheduled events. I think I got to see 26 different people within an hour. it was really cool to see some of my closest friends in high school at my college as well. But even though they're here with me, I still want to branch out. I've made a few new friends in addition to my friends from home. I've even become close with someone who went to my church but I had never talked to until this past week.
I could tell you about the parties, the activities, and the food, but that's not what I took away from this experience. Throughout my week at BGR, I learned more about the person I want to become and the experiences I want to have while I'm in college. I don't care if I don't go to some big party on the weekends. I don't care if I don't have a ton of friends. I want to become a confident, caring person who can make a great change in the world. Right now, I have my teammates, my roommate (who also happens to be my teammate), my new friends from BGR, my best friend, and friends that I've met before but was never close to until now. Those are the friends that I know will stick with me forever. Without BGR, none of those friendships would be as strong as they are now. I want to have experiences with those close friends that I will remember forever, whether it's eating Cheerios in my friend's dorm room or bowling at midnight. These are experiences I've already had and I can't wait for more to come!
