Leaving home and going to college was a huge wake-up call for me. Growing up in a tight-knit family, it was really difficult for me to leave home. When it came to college decision day, I chose to go to a small, four-year university close to my home. Move in day came and it was tough. It seemed that I was the only one who wasn’t excited to move into my dorm and start this new chapter in my life.
As time went by, my feelings towards college did not change. I found myself going home on weekdays and I knew that this was the college experience I was not looking for.
I decided to make a big change and transfer to Washington State University.
My short 45-minute drive home would turn into a 5-hour drive. I began school at WSU in the Spring of 2017 and my whole attitude towards school changed. I finally felt like I fit in somewhere.
As I went through my first semester at WSU I found myself having a lot of free time. I was still enjoying being a part of the WSU community but it felt like all of my days were the same. I would wake up, go to class, come home and hang out with my best friend or sit in my room for the rest of the day. Being a part of such a large school, I was finding it difficult to make meaningful relationships with people. I was lucky enough to have my best friend from high school live right next to me but other than that I spent a lot of time alone.
When you are alone for most of the day it can be depressing.
I was starting to feel like maybe college wasn’t the right thing for me. But how could that be? I was so happy in high school. I had perfect grades and perfect friends. I had plans for my future and it felt like they were ending right before they had even started.
I had heard about Greek life because it is a significant part of WSU but I had never had the desire to join. Both of my parents were Greek in college but that didn’t seem to persuade me into wanting to become a part of a sorority.
I finished my first semester at WSU and wasn’t sure if I was going to return. I thought strongly about moving back home and going to community college but that wasn’t a part of my plan. I needed to get my four-year degree so that I could be the successful person that I hope to be.
After many discussions with my family, I decided to do the thing that I never thought I’d do.
I was going to go through formal sorority recruitment in the fall.
Sorority recruitment being stressful is an understatement. The days leading up to recruitment the nerves started to kick in. I had no idea what to expect. I was going to get rejected and that never feels good. I was hoping that the emotional stress would lead to something great therefore I didn’t back out.
Recruitment was a long and emotional prosses but it was so worth it. Running home on bid day was an indescribable feeling. I immediately felt like I had a whole house of girls to support me even though I didn’t know them yet.
The first few weeks as a sorority member I already began to make close relationships with so many girls. I felt closer to these girls that I did with people that I have known for my whole life.
My whole college experience had flipped.
I know loved college and my college experience was turning out to be exactly what I wanted. I had people to be with at all hours of the day. I never felt alone because I had a whole sorority of girls that have my back.
Almost a year later and I’ve made relationships that will last a lifetime. I’ve met my best friends and my bridesmaids. I’ve never felt more loved than I ever have before. I now can’t imagine my college experience coming to an end and going separate ways from my sisters.
Without my sisters, I don’t think I would be where I am today.
I almost gave up and let my future out of my grasp but I have my sisters to thank for changing my life and giving me a whole new level of gratitude.
Moral of the story is, when you feel like something in your life isn’t going right, take risks and do things out of your comfort zone because you never know how it could change your life.