Trying New Things, Making New Friends

All of my best friends in high school have been my friends since at least middle school. My two best friends I actually became close with in kindergarten, but for many of my other close friends, it started anywhere from fifth to eighth grade. Needless to say, we were all very close. We could practically read each other’s minds we were so in sync. I knew exactly what time to text Diana if I wanted to talk to her before her afternoon nap, exactly how late Amanda would be when she was picking me up or what song Katie would put on if I handed her the AUX cord. (It was unfortunately always High School Musical.)

These girls became so much more than just friends, they were like my sisters. We hung out in school, after school and on the weekends. I was as close with their families as I was with my own. We ate, worked out, shopped and slept together. We were inseparable.

Leaving to come to Penn State meant leaving my sisters back home. Luckily enough for me, I found a way to make even more sisters. Joining a sorority is something that I debated for a long time. Greek life has been highly criticized lately (for good reason), I didn’t really have the time to get involved with something else on campus because of schoolwork and The Collegian and I didn’t even understand how sororities and the whole process of rushing worked.

Rushing was a lot all at once and now that it’s over I’m very happy that I’ll never have to do it again. However, I am so so so happy with the end result. I’m a new member of Sigma Kappa and I’ve been loving all the new experiences that brings with it. The older members are warm and inviting, the other girls in my pledge class are funny and kind and overall I’m just really happy I ended up rushing.

Opening up my envelope on Bid Day and finding a bid from Sigma Kappa was beyond exciting. They were my first choice and I felt so lucky to get to run with the other members of my pledge class into the inviting arms of my new sorority. I felt immediately at home. In every conversation I had, I couldn’t help but be reminded of my sisters back in Carmel.

One girl that I talked to had the same witty sense of humor as Molly. Another new member had the same beautiful curly hair as Caitlin. Someone even slipped in the wet grass, reminding me of Katie’s clumsiness.

I’ve been hanging out with these girls a lot, which is fun and new in and of itself. We went to chapter together and got fro-yo together and we’ve been hanging out all over campus every day. It’s not very often that you immediately click with people, but I’ve felt a connection to almost every girl I’ve talked to in the sorority so far and that new and exciting feeling reminds me of what this blog is all about – the benefit of trying new things!

One thought on “Trying New Things, Making New Friends”

  1. Hi Shannon!

    I really enjoyed reading your post because I related to it and it showed me a new perspective! I had several really close friends in high school and going to different colleges was one of the hardest things about the transition. I wasn’t confident that I could make friends at school that would be as wonderful as my friends from home. After a semester I have, but somewhat unlike you, they are very different from my friends at home. I found that I couldn’t replace my friends from home with people from college, but instead discovered that I can be friends with a diverse group of people and all of them have an important place in my heart.

    Secondly, I don’t have any close friends that rushed, so I didn’t really know anything about the process. I enjoyed hearing about your experience and its awesome that you are already making friends in Sigma Kappa!

    Best of luck!
    Liz

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