It seems like just yesterday I was moving into Larch Hall before classes started here at Iowa State. It sounds so cliché and the ordinary opener to a story like this but it's true. I remember being so scared to come to this big scary campus, where there are SO many people. I came from a high school in a town that didn't even have a gas station and where my graduating class was a whopping 99 students. So coming to Ames where my classes were about as big as the town I lived in, it was quite the adjustment. But I was up for the challenge!

I immediately wanted to get involved in every single possible activity. I even signed up for the Crew Club (I never made it to one of those 5 a.m. practices.) Right away I started formal recruitment, I believe it was the best possible way to transition into freshman year. What better way to get to know people then to be forced to have a "pleasant" conversation with them?

“Oh McClane, that's a cool name. How did you get that?"

“Uh. Long story.. So.."

I swear if I have to explain that to one more person I'm going to freak.

But hey I must have done some things right because I found a sorority to fall in love with, Kappa Kappa Gamma. Right away this started me off on being super busy, all the time. Chapters every Monday, sisterhoods, Homecoming, informal recruitment, you name it we did it. But it was the best kind of busy. When you hear the saying "From the outside looking in, you can never understand it, from the inside looking out, you can never explain it" it is so true. I really didn't know what being in a sorority entailed until I joined one. Freshman year is scary enough, not going to lie, I cried (a lot) when my parents dropped me off on moving day. But Kappa Kappa Gamma made me feel perfectly at home. It was the best decision I made freshman year and is totally worth the time I've put into it.

Just as I was getting my head above water and figuring out how to juggle school, homework, friends, family, a boyfriend, Kappa and my clubs I realized that there isn't that much left of freshman year. Looking back it was the best way to get involved. Freshman year is about finding yourself outside of high school. Where you move out of your parents house, make your own rules and decide if you want ice cream for dinner (sorry Mom and Dad). This is the time in your life where you choose the friends you hang out with and test the high school relationships to see if they last. You say you're going to visit your friends at their college “all the time" but then you realize you actually don't want to leave college for a whole weekend.

It's getting warmer outside and that means that the end of the school year is approaching. In high school I couldn't wait to be another year older because it was always better to be older. Now I'm dreading it because I don't want to have to leave my new friends and I have made my dorm room my home. As excited as I am for the next couple years at Iowa State, it's going by way too fast already. So for now, I'll just sit here and enjoy freshman year for just a bit longer.