first semester: a fever dream

Updated: Mar 17, 2022

Wow. The first semester is already over. To say it went fast would be an extreme understatement. This semester kind of felt like the first week of a two weeklong summer camp in a national forest far away from any responsibility whatsoever. Don’t get me wrong, it was hard. Really hard. especially NM’s Calc 2 class. That class was the bane of my existence. Were tears shed? Yes. Was there friend Drama? Of course. Boy Drama? What’s a teenage girl without some boy drama? Overall, this semester was THE definition of a fever dream. From screaming Waka Flocka’s No Hands, driving down country roads while I should be studying for exams to dancing on the DU stage, nothing felt real. I am going to try and give a brief not so summary of the best 5 months of my life. Keep up with me. There are A lot of names, a lot of places, and a lot of situations. This semester was the best introduction to this chapter of my life.

This chapter begins with us sitting in a circle playing corny introduction games with my not so corny mentor group. From the moment we met each other, I already felt as if I was home. The energy was immaculate. These first few days were essentially where I met my best friends: Nate. Mia. Olivia.

Do you know that game where you have to say a food that starts with the first letter of your name, then everyone has to remember you as that food? Well, this is where we meet Nate. Noodles for Nate. Simple right? No, Nate was specifically Angel Hair Noodles. Every time anyone got to his name, he made it clear. He was Angel Hair Noodles. Notorious for his humor, Nate became a friend that I can rely on to fend off the meanies of the world, to be obnoxious in Hoover with me, to teach me games, listen to my rants, and to continuously be spontaneous. You can be sure that he will be on the stage at a frat a 10:30pm and be gone before the clock strikes midnight. As the day of cringey games continued, we meet Mia. The blue ball covered in questions landed in her hand as she moved her right thumb to pick the perfect question. She lifted her thumb on the question If you could be any app what would be? Before she could even answer the question, she was rolling on the ground laughing as she belted out “I would be an Olive Garden Delivery App”. I remember thinking she is insane. I love her. Mia has become my big sister who happens to be younger than me. Her hugs are like a drug, she’s my designated listener, I can trust her with my crazy little stories, and I can always expect her to keep things interesting with her Prindle Institute Water bottle filled with… juice. Then we get to Olivia. Olivia didn’t make her presence as obvious as Nate and Mia however, her heart and personality are greater than the universe. I know for a fact, we both wanted to talk to each other as we walked behind the rest of the group on our way to dinner, learning small tidbits about each other, only to find out we live two doors down from each other on first floor BR. This was the beginning to a semester filled with every possible emotion including heartbreak… twice. Olivia is THE definition of a good friend, and I hope she knows how lucky I am to have her. She’s not afraid to let me know the truth, she’s my party buddy, the first person I go to for anything at school, one I can trust to get me back to BR safely, holds me back from some of my spontaneous ideas, and will willingly run through Julian only to scream from the top of our lungs the second we get outside. Absolute Euphoria. I mean it’s pretty cool we have a twelve part and counting handshake together.

The four of together is dangerous. We are our own world, and you can be sure that if we’re able to get to a party together, there will be some situation cooked up by the end of the night. Catapulting edamame off our forks in Hoover, Redbone by Carl Wheezer, you never know what is going to come from the four of us. We also invented the foot hug… the fug. Thank you four-way fugs for making this semester as perfect as it could’ve gone. Was everything immaculate all the time? No, but I wouldn’t want to learn these tough to learn lessons with anyone else.

Coming to DePauw was terrifying. I was so scared to leave my tourist town for cornfields and classrooms, but I happen to not get bored very often which I find amazing. I also came to DePauw with this idgaf mentality. In high school, I had been extremely reserved and only felt comfortable talking to a few people. This was mostly because I was afraid of what people were going to think but I came to DePauw with this idea that if someone doesn’t like me, that’s their own problem and this switch in mentality has become the best thing I could have done for myself entering this new chapter. As I escaped the blaring heat of the Florida sun, I also escaped the shell that I had forced myself into. I have pretty much no fear in talking to almost anyone anymore. I mean, I have underlying doubt but since I got to DePauw, I just let myself talk to whoever crosses my path. If I see you very often, you can be sure that I will introduce myself because why not. It always feels good to be acknowledged and recognized so I try and do just that. I wave to everyone I recognize and talk to anyone I meet. It’s amazing how many acquaintances and friends I’ve developed along the way. DePauw is like a rabbit hole of friends. I absolutely love almost everyone on campus and I’m always excited to talk to and meet new people. Don’t get me wrong, I am still in a constant battle with myself and my perception on how the world perceives me but since I arrived on campus, I’ve only gained confidence. In the very beginning, on the way back from my first golf tournament, I asked an upperclassman on my team what the best way to have fun in college is and I’ve been shown that this is the best time to do whatever I want (that won’t get me in trouble or hurt anyone else) and I’ve done just that. Have I gotten into a few awkward situations with guys? Yes, but I can assure you I still wave and smile to them every time I see them. Nothing so small is the end of the world. Finally the saying that my favorite British Youtuber in 2016, Zoella said played a role in my life. Just Say Yes. Rest assured I said yes a lot. Random chick-fil-a road trips, coffee dates, parties, meetings, seminars, movie nights, bowling matches and hoover runs were all in my agenda this semester, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I will keep saying yes to spontaneous trips and meeting new people. It’s all for the plot. I want to make the next four years as interesting and fulfilled as possible. My only regret would be not living.

Thank you so much four way fug, my golf team, my RA, my BR group, my mentor group, and all the other friends I’ve met along the way. I lived. laughed. loved this semester.

Some final takeaways: