When I first came to Penn State, I was afraid of getting lost in a big sea of people. Instead, I found a home, a place where I belong (cheesy, but true).

I found a place where people care about me, a place that fuels my strengths, passions, pride, and spirit in truly indescribable ways. A place that has instilled confidence in my career path and given me incredible friends. A place that has affected people so much so that it's been told if you yell "We Are!" at the top of the Eiffel Tower you are guaranteed to have someone say it back to you.

What a magical thing it is that Penn Staters are able to form connections such as this from simply just having been there. For these reasons, I quickly realized that I was found, rather than lost. I now know that wherever I go, today or after I graduate, Penn State is and always will be a part of who I am. It will guide my steps throughout the world.

Incoming Penn Staters, some of your most unforgettable memories await you. Although no list can truly capture the essence of Penn State's magic, here are just a few things to add to your bucket list during the best years of your life:

1. Meet random friends at 1:30 a.m. in the Canyon Pizza line

2. Eat Canyon Pizza midday and wonder how in the world you found it appetizing a few nights prior

3. Tailgate with your friends' parents and devour all their amazing homemade food

4. OrderUp Insomnia Cookies for a friend who's having a rough day

5. Have a heart-to-heart over some Kiwi fro-yo

6. Go shopping at Urban Outfitters and accept the fact that the only thing you can afford is the dry shampoo

7. Buy Emergen-C from McLanahan's during flu season

8. Partake in (or watch) the Mifflin Streak

9. Wait in the Waffle Shop line with your parents for Sunday morning breakfast while clearly still recovering from the night before

10. Eat a HUB salad on the High School Musical steps

11. Get thrown in the air/throw someone in the air during a football game

12. Sing “Sweet Caroline” in the freezing cold during the White-Out game

13. Much on the heavenly chicken baskets

14. Go to Nittany Mall one time and then promise yourself you'll never go back

15. When in doubt, get Chick-fil-A

16. Experience the oozy, heavenly sticky buns from the Diner

17. Try the Peachy Paterno ice cream at the Creamery

18. Experience the creamy chocolate milk at the dining halls

19. And also the legendary West Hall cookies

20. Try every dining hall while you’re at it

21. Join an IM sports team

22. Shout "We Are!" on a Friday or Saturday night on the Bloop or Whoop

23. Shout "We Are!" at a tour group

24. Go to a sporting event for every sports team

25. Have the dorm fire alarm go off while you're in the shower

26. Or be woken up by it at 6 a.m.

27. Wait at the elevators with those ginormous carts with all your stuff in it on move-in day

28. Experience the Wal-Mart move-in day madness

29. Buy a bagel from Irving's

30. Stand in the endless Starbucks line at the HUB

31. And also in the never-ending Chipotle line downtown

32. Take cute pictures with the flowers in the Arboretum in Spring

33. Kiss someone in the Arboretum cave near the caterpillar statue

34. Go to Bagel Crust on weekend mornings in your pajamas/sweats

35. Order a Fat Bitch from R U Hungry

36. And a calzone from DP Dough

37. Order the chocolate cake from The Deli

38. Eat pokeys at 2 a.m.

39. And Wings Over

40. And also Yallah Taco

41. Try to take BiSci3

42. And/or Soc119

43. Spend all your money on a Fiddlehead salad

44. Go sledding at the big hill by the baseball stadium

45. Get a milkshake from Baby's

46. Go on a date at the Corner Room

47. Join a THON committee or THON org or anything else THON related

48. Go to 100 Days of Thon

49. Experience the magical final four hours of THON

50. Riot something (the occasion will undoubtedly present itself)

51. Lounge by the pool in the summertime

52. Spend a summer taking classes

53. Make it onto the Campus Story

54. Hike Mount Nittany

55. Sunbathe on the HUB lawn anytime it's over 50 degrees

56. Lie on Old Main lawn at midnight with your friends and contemplate life

57. Ride the bike taxi with Vamos

58. Go ALL OUT for State Patty's

59. Do Nittanyville at least once

60. Get a strawberry and Nutella crepe from Underground with fries and a burger

61. Say hello to Mike the Mailman if you ever see him visiting campus

62. Have a frat member ask you, "Who do you know here?"

63. Crash a random apartment party

64. Become a pro at daylonging

65. See a football player in real life and take a creepy picture

66. Have a deep talk at the duck pond next to Alumni Hall

67. Wear the green hat on your 21st at the Phyrst

68. Karaoke at the Gaff

69. Attend Sex Quiz Night at Dark Horse

70. Experience 55 Days at Café

71. Talk to the Willard Preacher

72. Tailgate the Blue and White game

73. Get caught in a snowstorm/rainstorm

74. Steal a fracket

75. Get nachos from Taco Bell

76. Get nachos from Champs, as well

77. Give a super dirty look to a Pitt fan who comes to visit

78. Give an even dirtier look to an Ohio State fan

79. Buy a Nittany lion car magnet

80. Go to the homecoming parade

81. Buy an overpriced shirt from Metro

82. Take a selfie with the Nittany Lion

83. Attend a Power Remix class

84. Suffer through a Butts and Guts class

85. Get lost in the IM building

86. Fight over the equipment at White

87. Run on the track in Rec Hall

88. Attend Movin' On even though you have 4 finals to study for

89. Pull an all-nighter in the Stacks

90. Google the name "Betsy Aardsma" while you're there

91. Get a chocolate chip croissant at Au Bon Pain

92. Memorize the "Dear Old State" alma mater

93. Ice skate at Pegula ice rink

94. Stand in the S-Zone

95. Have your non-State friends make fun of you for only wear PSU merch whenever you're home on breaks

96. Take a Lion Shrine picture your first day of school

97. Take a Lion Shrine picture in your cap and gown

98. Brag to your non-State friends about how amazing your school is

99. Successfully do the "We Are" chant outside State with a group of complete strangers

100. Go back for Arts Fest