Going to UGA is a great decision, but it can be overwhelming by how big the campus and city of Athens is. There is so much to do in Athens, and the city is always bursting with life. However, when I first came to UGA, I was overwhelmed by how many buildings there are on campus. It can be a little confusing. UGA has so much life and diversity in activities; there is always something to do or someplace to go. This summer I took classes at UGA, and I found a lot of my favorite places for me to go. The following are the top places I liked to go to for certain activities.

1. My Favorite Church -- Grace Athens:

This is a church worship service on the University of Georgia’s campus. It is in a chapel on Sunday nights. It is amazing! I love the worship and the sermon, and the people are so real and kind. I love worshiping God with the beautiful worship music.

2. My Favorite Tradition -- Ring the Chapel Bell:

The bell is on the backside of the Grace Athens chapel, and it is near the UGA arches. It is a tradition that students ring the chapel bell when something good happens (like making an A on that chemistry final that you have been worried about). My friends and I rang the chapel bell early in the summer, and it was fun and satisfying. I would highly recommend it.

3. My Favorite Food -- Zombie Donuts:

This place has the best donuts ever. You can choose your own toppings and icing flavor. While eating these donuts you will be asking yourself, “is this what heaven taste like?” And I would have to say -- I donut know. #donutpuns #zombiedonutsareawesome.

4. My Favorite Store -- Pitaya:

Pitaya is my favorite store because they have really cute clothes. However, it could be a little pricey, so I would only go there on certain occasions. Hey, but if you need to treat yourself -- go for it.

5. My Favorite Dining Hall -- ECV:

I am sure that in the fall my opinion on my favorite dining hall will change. During the summer, the only dining halls that were open were Bolton and East Campus Village (or ECV as most people call it). ECV had pizza, good salad choices, and yummy smoothies. If you are a smoothie person, I would definitely recommend you to go there. In my opinion, the best smoothie is the banana and peanut butter one. It is DE-LIS-OUS.

6. My Favorite Place to Work Out -- Ramsey:

Ramsey is a gigantic gym with something for everyone. Are you a swimmer? Ramsey has a pool. Do you like basketball? They have basketball courts. Are you a dancer? They have dance rooms. Do you play volleyball? They have a volleyball court. You name it, they have it. They have treadmills, weights, and a lot more. Since I am a runner, I liked to run around the indoor track. It is nice to be able to run inside on the days that it is blazing hot outside. However, on the cooler days, my friends and I would sometimes run to ECV, which is very close to Ramsey. After pumping some iron, you could eat at ECV.

7. My Favorite Place to Study -- MLC:

The most important thing to do in college is study (even though it is not always the most fun thing to do). My favorite place to study was the MLC, which stands for the Zell Miller Learning Center. I liked it because the higher the floor, the quieter it was (although I think the library does this too). There are four floors and the top floor is almost completely silent. When I needed to study, I liked studying in the MLC because it was quiet. I could definitely get more done. I tend to get distracted if I try to study in my room. Plus, MLC has study rooms that were extremely helpful to my friends and me because we used the study rooms to have study sessions before our exams.

8. My Favorite Place to Give Back -- Northeast GA Food Bank:

For one of my summer classes, I had to volunteer at a place. I decided to volunteer at the Northeast GA Food Bank, which was about 15 minutes away from campus in a car. It was a great experience for me to help the community by giving back my time. I helped out with an organization through the food bank called Food to Kids, which helps give less fortunate kids food during the school year. We bagged up canned food and snakes for the kids. I am glad that I was able to give back to my college community.

If it is your first year at the University of Georgia, let me just tell you this- you will fall in love it. The campus, the people, and the activities are amazing. Have a blast and study hard.