Trying New Things as a Freshman
Growing up, I was always scared to get out of my comfort zone and try new things. I would be willing to do new things, but only if I knew of a friend doing it too. In high school, I was always very involved with a variety of things, and I loved being at any event, whether that was participating in it or supporting peers. Coming to college, I knew I wanted to be involved, but I was never expecting to be involved as much as I have been so far.
As I said, I was involved with many activities, but the curveball was that I always had to know a friend was going to be there too. Coming to college, I didn’t have that. I didn’t have any friends from high school coming to HU, so I had a fresh start. I had no clue what I wanted to be involved in, but I knew that was the only way I was going to meet new people, which is terrifying for an introvert like me. Before I said yes to committing to an event, I had to make sure I knew someone there. Somehow, after a few weeks of school it became easier to say yes to new things.
I tried many new things. A few of them were things I did in high school, and others weren’t even an option at my high school. Some of my favorite new things I tried this academic year were PowderPuff, synchronized swimming at Olympiad (like our own campus Olympics), and the musical. I never expected to be doing any of these things coming into college, but they have become some of my favorite memories so far.
I did PowderPuff in high school during my senior year. I had a lot of fun, but I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. There were many other girls more athletic than me who understood the game better than I did. When I played on my floor’s team at college, I had zero expectations for myself because of how it went in high school. Little did I know, I was going to play on offense, defense, and run the ball a lot. Our team ended up winning the tournament, and it was a blast. I had so much fun doing PowderPuff and found new things I enjoy doing.
As far as synchronized swimming goes, I got thrown in the deep end, literally. I’ve never enjoyed swimming as a sport, but I’m always amazed by people who can swim well. If I can’t touch the bottom, I’m not going any farther, which isn’t very far for me because I’m pretty short. Anyway, my friends somehow managed to convince me to do synchro. Thankfully, there wasn’t much swimming involved. In synchronized swimming at HU, we dance in the water, splash a lot, and have a great time. My team ended up winning the synchronized swimming portion of Olympiad. If you win, you get to perform it a second time. After we finished our second performance some of the other teammates jumped in the pool with us to celebrate.
Being involved in musicals wasn’t uncommon for me in middle and high school. However, I hadn’t planned on being in one at college because I wasn’t expecting to be able to keep up with the talent at this level. Through a very impulsive decision and convincing from a friend, I auditioned for the musical Meet Me in St. Louis. Little did I know I was going to have so much fun in the whole process. I was cast as an ensemble member in the show and loved every second of it. I’m so thankful for the great memories I’ve made so far and am excited for the ones to come.
