Trickling...

Every year new people come. Every year old people leave. Every year people enter into a repetition of school shopping, Blackboard roster stalking, and gossiping of change. Every year 20 bright-eyed freshmen stumble in a crazed rush into their new homes on the 10th floor of Buddig Hall, beginning one of the most formative journeys of their young lives. From here on out, they will deal with bonding, stress, conflict, scheduling, people coming into their lives, and leaving just as quickly as they arrived. That forecast sounds kind of sad and bleak, doesn't it? Nope, not at all!

All of the changes of life that come with college are a vital part of college, for not only Cardoners, but for all freshmen. Stress and conflict are parts of life that never go away. Whether from school, work, relationships, or home situations, these 2 forces of life are ever-present, only to be relieved by the various ways in which one knows to how to cope with them. Forming friendships and bonds (and learning to let them go) is another of the most pertinent life skills to be learned by leaders and scholars. It's a necessary part of life. Dealing with people you hate, balancing all the people you like, and staying connected to those you left behind; those are the types of activities one engages in that shows the real composition of a person's character. As cliché as it sounds, the person you are when you enter college shouldn't be the same person you are when you leave 3-5 years later; if you don't emerge from the collegiate chrysalis as a rejuvenated butterfly, instead remaining a jaded caterpillar, you surely did not take advantage of all you  should have in college.    

Have the conversations that you're not sure if you want to have. Join the 6 clubs you think you might like. Eat at different times with different people whenever you get a chance. Don't be afraid to take the classes with the "hard" professors. Deal with the pain of overspending your Wolfbucks then learning to budget them next semester. Learn these life skills while you're still in the safety of a community that'd be willing to catch you if you fell. Mistakes are formative and as a leader, as a Cardoner, and as a student, you shouldn't be afraid to be wrong. College is an experience like no other, but it will only be what you make it. For your parents' sake if not your own, make sure to get your money's worth! 

Just a few of my favorite learning/bonding/ formative memories of Freshman year:

 Cardoner ladies' Spring trip to the zoo!

 The end of the Inter- Hall- egiate Challenge put on by RHA, 

one of my favorite organizations to be involved in. 

Staff photo from the summer conference staff I stayed at Loyola

all summer working with