As many know, I'm currently a sophomore at the University of Idaho and with a year under my belt I still feel like I'm way further along in life than I should be. The worst part of the whole thing is that I don't think that by the time I graduate I'll be able to live on my own, but until then, I'll figure it out. This year truly feels no different than my freshman year, except now I get to look at a giant group of kids fresh out of high school, doing the exact same thing I did last year. While it is fun to finally be off the bottom of the college food chain, the whole thing is just plain weird.
Being a Sigma Nu, I got the opportunity to take part in choosing the new freshman to take my place in the house as I move up a step. Every time a freshman walked by the house I would instantly be transported to rush last year, memories of getting lost on Greek row filled my mind. I finally realized that everything I thought last year, judging the houses and the guys I met, I still did this year. Trying to get to know a group of 250 in four days is no easy task, and there's no way we can really get to know them all. For the most part, the whole week was just a giant nostalgia trip.
Once we finally picked up our group of candidates, we moved them in that morning, and later in the evening we had our Bid Day ceremony. Bid Day is basically a holiday in Moscow, and I like to think that we celebrate the best. Our ceremony involves Gamma Phi Beta, water, some jumping, lots of cheering, and a bit of testosterone. Seeing the class of 2016 lined up on that bench waiting for their turn brought me back to one of the best days of my life. Not a single person doesn't have a smile on their face by the time we finish, and the Bid Day picture is always the best one we take all year.
So after Bid Day, we finally get back in the swing of things and get to have some fun. Stuff like the freshman getting their Gamma Phi Beta littles, Jock Jamz, and the quickly approaching Camp Trip bring me back to last year. Getting to set the example for the first time is also a power trip, but again, I don't really feel any more in control than I should be. Knowing all the in's and out's of being a Sigma Nu was cool last year, but now it's even better as the freshman get to learn everything we learned and more this year.
All in all, having a pledge class 2016 to take the position PC 2015 was in last year is just a blast from the past and makes me feel more insecure about my future as a human being, but that's okay. There's sixteen new guys to get to know over the course of the next year, and that's a pretty cool idea. Sixteen new guys to take my class's place, and sixteen guys that will hopefully fill the shoes my class and classes before us left.
