I was so busy studying for finals constantly that, until I finished my last one, I hadn't really realized I will no longer be a freshman. It made me reflect back on this year, and it is crazy how fast it went by. So I decided to now make a post about some of my favorite memories of this year. In reality, it is impossible to post them all, but I can easily think of a few right now:
12. Freshman Orientation: One of my first and favorite memories of this year! The staff did a great job in making us feel welcome, and I met and made lifelong friends. When it's time for your Orientation, take advantage of it and go to as many events as you can!
11. Halloween!: Halloween weekend was one of my craziest and most fun weekends of this year. Every night, my friends and I went to awesome Halloween-themed parties, and it was a great time to relax and let loose. Normally every year I would find one costume, but here we have Halloween weekend, so I had three different costumes. It was so much fun and shows that you can never be too old to have fun and act like a child sometimes!
10. The Courage Bowl: This is an annual football game between St. John Fisher College and the University of Rochester. It is a fundraising event, and the University provided free transportation for us students to go cheer on our team! We may have lost, but it was still fun seeing my first football game from my school with a bunch of friends.
9. Having the Best Roommate Ever: My roommate and I met on Facebook on our 2015 group page and then ended up meeting in person at one of the visit days for accepted students, and from that we decided to request each other as roommates. I couldn't have made a better choice. We ended up becoming really great friends and had a lot of fun this year. I am going to miss him next year, but I know we will still be seeing a lot of each other.
8. The Freshman Fellow Hiring Process: This is one of my favorite memories only because I got the position, but I still am very happy about it. I applied in the spring, had an interview, and then got chosen to be a Freshman Fellow for next year. If any of you get assigned to Gilbert 4 (which is on the Res Quad), we will be seeing a lot of each other, and we will be having a great year together!
7. Working at Connections: I know that it seems really, really weird to put employment as a favorite memory, but since I started working at Connections, I have made some great friends. People that I work with, people that come in regularly, and even managers. I have made great connections (ha) and met a lot of people outside of my freshman class. I learned a lot, and all while making good money. I am happy that I don't have to work there again until next semester, but I will be missing my fellow employees this summer.
6. Long Nights In Gleason: Gleason Library is open 24/7 and is a place where almost everyone comes to study. Especially this semester, I would be there until 2 or even 3 a.m. doing homework and studying. During finals week, I only left to eat. It is a place where you don't have to be quiet, and it rarely ever is (except for the section titled "quieter study area"). I like it, though, because it keeps me sane. I get to be with friends, have countless study breaks, and I can always just put headphones in and get to work. I personally like it better than being enclosed in Rush Rhees Library alone and surrounded by nothing but shelves of books. A lot of funny memories came out of those nights, and I plan on spending a lot of time there my following years.
5. Spring Break: I stayed on campus for spring break, and I was worried I was going to be lonely and bored. But I ended up having so much fun. Not too many students stayed on campus, but those of my friends who did hung out with me a lot. It was a great week weather-wise, and it was perfect timing. Right when I was starting to get overwhelmed from school, this came along. I am really excited in the future to take road trips and go other places in America. It is totally worth saving up for!
4. Joining a Fraternity: Freshmen cannot rush sororities or fraternities until spring semester, so that they have time to adjust to college life and not make rash decisions. I was not planning on rushing or pledging at all when I first came here, but when I met brothers from my fraternity I changed my mind. I am so glad I did. Greek life is not for everyone, but I have already made lifelong friends, and I love my brothers.
3. Janelle Monae featuring Fun. Concert: UR was fortunate enough to hold the first show of Janelle Monae's tour of a whole bunch of college campuses, and as most know, Fun. is one of my favorite bands, so I got to see them and a wonderful growing artist in the same night for a great price, thanks to the awesome opportunities UR students get.
2. YellowJackets Concert: This was at Eastman, and they had guests Delilah and Pentatonix from the NBC reality show The Sing-Off. They were my three favorite groups, and it was amazing to be able to see them all live together in one night. By far one of my favorite memories, and I will never forget it. Yellowjacket pride!
1. Finishing My First Academic Year at My Dream School: I have wanted to come to this university since middle school, and I worked really hard to get here. I was given criticism, reinforcement, more criticism, some hope, and of course, criticism. I only applied here as an Early Decision student and had no backups. I knew I had to come here, though. My plan might not have been the best, but to all of those who doubted me, I have come this far, and I am still going strong. I love my university more than anything, and I am so proud to call myself a Yellowjacket. I am so excited for my future years here. To all of those accepted and coming in the fall, I hope you have a great experience like everyone else I know.
Almost every topic I just talked about has a blog post related to it that I wrote before, so if you see something that you want more information on, feel free to scroll through my page and read some more. And as always, I am available on Facebook or email if you have questions or anything! Look for more blogs from Admissions throughout the summer, and everyone have a great end of the school year!