Why Riddle is More Lit than I Thought

I’ve been hearing about going to college my whole life – talk about freaking out my senior year in high school, everybody was freaking out. Will there be really hard classes and tons of homework? I hate trying to fit in when I don’t know anybody. I’ve been told this is what I’m supposed to do since elementary school. Really? And then, it is the end of August. I am so not ready for this.

Embry-Riddle is near my home and my dad works there. Ugggg! Guess where I am going… Everybody knows its rep as nerd school central. You know, pilots, engineers, science geeks and pocket protectors. Students all so laser-focused that they have already decided what they are doing after they graduate. Professors and Resident Assistants all uptight and straight-laced. Fun dies here, right?

Guess what? It is not like that at all! The people I have met know how to let loose and have fun. They are smart, funny, and interesting. Yes, you have to study, but it is not all cooped up in a dorm room and staring at a computer. It is way more Lit than I thought.

Orientation week eased all us nervous freshman into the process. O-Week was cool. No upperclassmen! This made the first few days of settling in, wandering around, meeting new people and finding the best places to eat much less scary. With the O-Team, everything felt like a judgment-free zone. Everybody started making friends right away.

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What a fantastic October it has been! Between my birthday, many Halloween movie marathons, Stetson’s Opera Showcase, fall break at Halloween Horror Nights, the Tri Sigma fashion show, Jessica Lynn speaking, Screamageddon, Kennedy Space Center and the biggest (and most spooktacular) party of the year! Now all that’s left is to decorate the house, carve some pumpkins and celebrate my favorite holiday!

O-Week evening events helped me meet even more people as everyone has to know each other. It started feeling like home, meeting people in your dorm–Doolittle Upper Shaft Rules!–and leaving your door open and playing music to let everyone know to come by and visit. All of a sudden, you have the chance to learn about so many different cultures and customs because everyone at Riddle is from somewhere else.

O-week was like summer camp–a familiar and fun place for any kid away from home for the first time. The week kept going–O-team meetings, pep rallies, information sessions and campus tours. At night, they had all sorts of fun stuff for us to do. We created memories with the people we had met that day. I made awesome friendships.

When O-Week is over and the upperclassmen start arriving, Embry-Riddle still worked hard to keep us entertained and occupied. The activities fair had so many different clubs and organizations. I signed up for SCUBA club, Touch N’ Go Productions, and P.R.I.D.E. Then Rush Week lets you check out Greek life. There are Thursday movie nights, intramural sports teams (I signed up for volleyball), comedy shows, pool parties, cookouts, paint rave, speakers series, and astronomy open houses. The Eagles men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball teams have games at night. These are all great ways to mingle and get to know new people. Do I have to go to class?
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Speaking of… classes are so different in college, everyone is much more engaged and the professors have a passion for what they are teaching that you never see in high school. My major is communications because I’ve always loved English and Psych, but I also might major in Meteorology. Homework is a lot less stressful than I expected, though studying for tests is way more important. However, you can study with a group of friends–which is so different from high school – and keep each other focused and help with questions.

Enough of that. I’m off to the Kennedy Space Center with friends this weekend. I was at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios last week with a freshman friend I know from Portland, and nighttime on the beach with a full moon and new friends is… well, it’s all way more Lit than I thought.
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So Long, Sayonara!

Last week (almost sadly) was my last week working in the Special Olympics office. It was a bittersweet moment but I was happy not having to get up at 7:30 a.m. 3 days out of the week and being there from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. I got a lot of experience interning for SOKS and also got to learn a lot about myself. I definitely did something I would have never gotten to do otherwise and very much appreciate those experiences.

Right now, I’m still working on a few SOKS assignments from home, in addition to the final paper I’ll submit about my internship. It feels so much better to work on my own schedule, one of the very things I’ll miss in the real world.

As time is nearing until the fall semester starts, I’m also working a seasonal job at Under Armour Factory Store in Kansas City, KS. It’s a great job and I’m enjoying it so much. I think I love it more because I work evening shifts and I can sleep all day. Plus I get a really awesome employee discount! I’m pretty sure I’ll come back to school with as much Under Armour as I have Tri Sigma shirts. Also, Under Armour may be signing Kevin Durant (OKC) for a $30 million/year deal. Apparently his contract with Nike expired last week and he missed the meeting to renew.

Under Armour’s new UA Women campaign is something I’m really hyped about. They’ve teamed up with Misty Copeland, Lindsay Vonn, Sloane Stephens and a few other women and come up with the “I Will What I Want” campaign. I love it. It’s empowering women to break beyond the standards and the stereotypes. I personally love Misty Copeland because I wanted to be a ballerina when I was younger. Copeland surpassed all odds and was even rejected at a ballet school. She was told her body, posture, and feet were wrong and not up to par. Now she is a soloist for the American Ballet Theatre. In 2007 she became the first black female soloist for the American Ballet Theatre.

Go to YouTube and search for “I Will What I Want” video starring Copeland. I’ve watched it maybe half a million times and I follow her on Instagram.

With this being my last week in Kansas City, I’m doing quite a bit but just enough to keep me interested. I’ll be flying to Columbia, South Carolina next week to stay with my dad before school starts. That, I’m SUPER excited about!! And then… FALL SEMESTER STARTS!!!! I’m soo beyond excited to start my SENIOR year and see all my friends and classmates again. August 25th can’t come fast enough!!