It is officially the night before classes begin at my university. I’ve only been here a little over a week but it feels like it’s been a month! Call me crazy, I am actually looking forward to classes starting. I love my routine and so far, college has not been kind to any sort of order.
For those of you who are interested how last week went, it went. Pre-season, more commonly known around campus as “hell week,” was very long. I only experienced it from the perspective of an indoor athlete, but I’m sure soccer and football feel similarly about this past week. Pre-season is basically a week full of two (or more) practices a day, weights and conditioning, and team bonding. The week seems to drag out forever while simultaneously flying by. Hence my feeling that I’ve been here for a month. For me, every practice felt like a day.
To be honest, no, I did not enjoy pre-season. In fact, after the first practice I was questioning if I really wanted to stick with it. The first day was awful. I didn’t know anything, felt like my skill level was miniscule in comparison to the other girls, and I was so tired and sore. To state the obvious, I was not prepared for this week. While I didn’t really like pre-season, I realize a lot of people don’t. (Refer to previous mention of the term “hell week.”) And while the first couple days absolutely killed me, the practices got better, I’m starting to learn the terminology, drills, and defenses my coach has in place. I can tell that I’m improving already. Still, at this point I wouldn’t say that I’m having fun. Of course, I love my teammates and we do have fun times, but college volleyball is a whole different ball game than high school (which I expected). I say this having only just finished pre-season and having zero games under my belt. Clearly, I haven’t even experienced half of what is to come, which is why I decided to stick out the season.
On a completely different note, the class of 2022 was officially inducted into the University of Saint Mary this morning at a matricualtion ceremony. Basically, we all got dressed up, went to the chapel, lit a candle, and were prayed over. While we were at the ceremony, it really hit me that the students at my university are extremely cared about and loved by the staff and faculty. Coming from a small town and high school, that is something that is very important to me and I love that I was able to find a college where I still have the feeling of family.
Before the matriculation ceremony, I had to go through freshman orientation. Sunday was the main day, we had something happening from 9am to 9pm. We were broken up into houses (different groups) and we are in that house for the rest of the year. Basically, the houses are our FYE (first year experience) classes and we compete against all the other houses in different competitions throughout the year. I’m in the McGilly house (aka the honors house). We’re the smallest house ( we have 14 people, the other houses have 20+). While we are at a slight disadvantage in the athletic events (tug of war 14 vs 23?) we’re at a huge advantage in the friendship department. I know everyone in my house, can remember all their names, and we have fun when we’re together. We’re even making plans to go have dinner.
What I’ve deduced from this past week is that college is actually pretty awesome. People are nice (for the most part) and are eager to make friends (again, mostly). I’ve met so many different types of people in just one week 
than I did in my entire high school career. And I love it! My first friends were my teammates, but that circle has been extended so much and I’m thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to meet all these people. Tomorrow will extend that circle even more. A lot of people I’ve talked to say you meet a lot of your friends in class.
I start my college career with a 9:30am Accounting class. What direction my life will take after this week, month, semester, and year, I don’t know. I’ve met some amazing people in one week alone and if this week is any indication of how the next four years will go, I can’t wait!
P.S sorry, I still have no pictures from the scavenger hunt and sadly, we lost.