This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at TAMU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
If you had told me when I was moving into my dorm that my first year at Texas A&M would become my favorite year of all time, I probably would not have believed you. When I first moved in, I did not really know what to expect. I had never stayed far from home for a long period of time and was nervous to start academically challenging classes. Looking back, I was stressed for no reason, because everything flowed so perfectly.
Having friends prior to starting classes honestly did help me a ton. I was used to moving around my whole life, so restarts were not uncommon for me. I knew I did not want to completely start over as I have done many times. Having friends that I have known for a few years really helped me feel better as I began this new chapter of my life. My roommate and I met in fifth grade, and had a few friends from high school that I could hang out with as I got accustomed to campus. I did want to expand my friend group to new people on campus as well, but my high school friends were a great anchor for me as I found new friends. We still see each other very frequently, and I am living with my same roommate next year as well.
I knew that I had to join an organization in order to find my place on campus, so I began looking. I joined a few major-specific organizations and one fun one, ASSIST (Aggies Selflessly Serving in Shaping Tomorrow), a Freshman Leadership Organization. Because ASSIST is tailored to freshmen and is a very time-consuming organization, I grew very close to everyone in the organization. Towards the end of the year, we would see each other every day and do everything together; this group truly became like my second family.
In college, people make a large effort to meet up with others, fostering incredible relationships that can last a lifetime. Finding a group in which you feel like you belong, however, is not handed to you on a silver platter. It took continuous effort from all my friends and me to be able to make time to see each other and have fun outside of our required events. Growing close to an amazing group of people in and out of ASSIST made my transition to Texas A&M so much easier. Establishing my own schedule helped me with my adjustment to Texas A&M. I am looking forward to being back on our beautiful campus in the fall!