Attitude has always been my problem. You can read my facial expressions instantly, and strangers always know my exact emotions. So, it was blatantly obvious when I was not accepted to my dream school, I was devastated.
Second place, runner up, plan b… it was never really an option for me, but now I had no choice. It was official, I was going to Ball State University, and I was not completely unhappy with my choice. I was still crushed I wasn't going to the Big 10 school with the insane tailgates, wild parties, amazing Greek life, and of course the Victoria’s Secrets’ collegiate section.
What I learned quickly was that Ball State University does not get half the credit it deserves.
Ball State University, located in good ol’ Muncie, Indiana...I had never even heard of Muncie before deciding to go to this campus. I literally saw fields of corn and nothing for way too many miles on the trip down, but what I didn’t know was that I was going to fall in love, very, very quickly.
Ball State University is like the Three Bears tale, not too big, not too small, but just right. The campus food is not disgusting, and even though the freshman 15 is a very real and scary thing, it wasn't hard to find something good for you too. The majors to choose from are endless, and the school even has famous alums such as David Letterman and Angela Ahrendts (if you don’t know who either of those people, who are you and where have you been?). Knowing both of these people attended and graduated from Ball State was so encouraging to me, because if they could do it, then so can I.
And yes, Ball State does have a Greek life. When I was a freshman, I went through recruitment just to see what it was about. I fell in love with my sorority the first day I met them, and I’m still so in love. The thing about Ball State that always irked me was that the sororities don’t have houses, but the fraternities do. I wanted to live with my sisters so bad and to have a cute house decorated just for us, but then I began thinking of what living with 50+ girls would really be like… not as great as it sounded. Also, the coolest thing about not having to live with your sisters is you can live with anyone, such as other women from different sororities, or girls who didn't choose the sorority life. Either way, you’re not limiting yourself to a certain group of people and you're branching out (which also helps with networking for jobs, FYI). The Greek community is great, it’s not a competition to be the best, but instead is more along the lines of: how can we help you raise money for your philanthropy, let’s do community service together to help others… you know, what it should really be about.
For the other stuff like the big tailgates, parties, and Victoria’s Secrets collegiate line (which we still don’t have, so hey VS, throw us a bone!), our football team is amazing, so put two and two together-- we have great tailgates. Party wise, it’s a university, weekends (and by weekends I mean Wednesday night through Saturday night) are never dull, and everyone who comes to visit always has an amazing time.
Like I said, it’s all about your attitude. Obviously if your outlook is the glass half empty, you need to refill and keep going, because you’re definitely doing it wrong.
Photo courtesy of masterplan.bsu.edu
