As the semester comes to a close, I would love to go back and reflect on my first year at Penn State. Transitioning into college life was definitely not at easy as I thought it would be. I sort of expected to come here and meet a bunch of people my first day and then become best friends with them and be attached at the hip all year. However that was not the case. My roommate is a friend from high school, which I thought would make it easier to meet friends and make connections with other people. I have always been more of the extrovert in our friendship, so it was no shocker when I came to college and wanted to get the full experience. Not having a roommate who likes to do all the same things you do is not at all an issue, but for me it made it very difficult to make friends and find new people to talk to without feeling like I was a weirdo.
On the first day of classes, I met Lindsay, someone who I would now consider one of my best friends. She sat next to me in my first ever college class, and we realized we were both first year students and she lived on the ground floor of my building. From there, we went to lunch, and have been inseparable since. Her and I pledged the same sorority and went through the recruitment process together, and she has introduced me to so many incredible people who are now some of my favorite people. I also got involved in SMART in the beginning of the year, which opened up the opportunity for me to become a tour guide. I went through three months of training before I was evaluated and certified, and now I give tours to accepted and prospective Penn Staters, and it has truly been one of the best things that I have gotten involved in. I love being able to talk to students, answer their questions, and give them the guidance and advice needed when transitioning into college life. Through this organization, I have also met one of my other best friends Ashley, who is definitely my long lost twin. I was on an OPP committee for THON which also allowed me to meet so many amazing people and be a part of something so much bigger than myself which I am incredibly grateful for. Through Sigma Kappa, I’ve met some of the realest, most genuine people and I cannot wait to see what next year brings. I feel like I have grown so much through my academics and I can see the progress as I go through my assignments.
I can’t believe I have reached the end of my first year of college! Luckily, COVID didn’t have too much of an effect on my experience and it is still crazy to think that we haven’t made it out of this pandemic yet. I want to thank my advisors, professors (especially Meg because she is literally an angel), peers, and mentors for helping me adjust to life at Penn State and for giving me the best 8 months of my life. Even though I’m for summer, I’m so sad to have to leave State College and go back home.
Thank you Penn State. I can’t wait to be back 🙂
I can relate to your experience here at the beginning of the year! I think a lot of people felt this way, that we would find our core friend groups and be attached at the hip all year, but since classes are more academically rigorous, it is hard to spend all your time with new people when you are trying to juggle five different classes. At the beginning of the year, my roommate and I would always talk about how we felt like we weren’t making the friends we had expectations about in the summer before coming to Penn State. What I didn’t realize was that I was developing a very close friend group without me even thinking about it. I think because of this, it is important not to set expectations about what kind of college life you will live, because it will end up developing naturally and organically in ways that you would have never thought. I think you experienced the same, and I can’t wait to see what next year brings too!
I had a similar experience with my expectations coming into college! I didn’t realize how we can make so many close friends through different classes and extracurriculars, not just roommates or people I knew beforehand. It was super interesting hearing about the different organizations and classes through which you found close friends; I think that your experience really speaks to the power of collaboration and how working with others can lead to new friendships. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your first year at Penn State and best of luck with your future endeavors!
I am happy to hear you had such a positive experience! I also feel like I was amazed at how quickly I connected with certain people and how easily it actually was to make these friends. Especially as a freshman everyone comes in having the same worries and thoughts and so that was something that was always super easy to relate too with everyone. Overall, I feel like I came into Penn State not knowing what to exactly expect and it was better than I could have imagined it to be.