Freshman year at UC had both its highs and lows. Right off the bat, I was thrown into a completely new environment full of new people and places. I have to admit I was extremely overwhelmed at first trying to make friends and adjust to the new rigors of college level work. As I was able to better organize myself in the academic world, it was time to get myself together socially. I was a very shy person before arrive at UC. Very seldom would you see me introducing myself to someone new unless doing so with someone else. It just wasn't my style in the slightest. Enter freshman year at UC. My roommate situation did not work out as I had hoped it would. So, essentially I did not have that go-to new best friend that I saw every single day and could do things with until I was able to branch out. Nope, that wasn't God's plan for me. I was set up for a challenge and I was going to have to embrace it and make the most of my situation. I decided the best place for me to start was to go back to my roots. Therefore, that is exactly what I did. I would go to mass on Sunday's by myself and then started attending some of the more social events that St. Monica-St. George Parish Newman Center was holding. I will never forget it. It was memorial day and they had plans to take students downtown to watch the fireworks over the river. I decided to go rather than just be by myself. I am most definitely glad that I did! I met this really awesome girl named Kristina and that was the start of a friendship that would continue to flourish throughout the year. After we got to know eachother better, we were pretty much inseperable.

Alright, so that was the overview.

My first year at UC, I learned a great number of things from many very smart people. I learned that sometimes it takes a lot of courage to try something outside of yourself a little bit but it is often well worth it. Had I not decided to attend events at the Newman Center I would not have met pretty much any of the amazing people I now consider to be very very close friends! To quote Babe Ruth, "Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game." I am so glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone. It helped me to create a whole new side to my personality. Now, I am so much more social and talkative than I could have ever even dreamed of when I first got to UC as a scared freshman back in August. 

Aside from meeting Kristina, I have been able to become very close friends with many amazing people at St. Monica-St. George who make me a better person for  knowing them and calling them friends. That is definitely really important to me. I want to have people around me who are going to challenge me to be the very best version of myself. I believe wholeheartedly that I am exactly where I need to be and with some of the best people that God could have possibly put into my life.

What do they say, hindsight is always 20/20. That is most definitely true. I would have to say that there are a few things I would change about freshman year if I could. That is not to say they didn't make me better, just saying they probably weren't worth all of the fuss. First, I would have given myself a bit more slack when it came to putting crazy pressure on myself with grades. High school was easy and I kept thinking college should be the same for me but that was obviously not going to be true. I would stress so much about grades, especially first semester, that I would get upset when my semester average fell below a 90%. Looking back it was ridiculous to put such herculean pressure on myself but it's just who I was and who I still am a little bit! 

There is definitely some key advice I would give myself. Find a good organizational system that is a bit more sophisticated that putting sticky notes all over the place. Especially with the opportunity I have gotten to be an intern at St. Monica- St. George this year, I am going to need to be on top of the game in every sense of the word. My weeks are going to be crazy but they are also going to be well worth all the trouble. I can just tell. I plan on pouring my heart into everything I do this year but that is going to require some great organization.

I believe that for the most part I have stayed the same person as when I got to college. I didn't compromise any of my values to fit in or rebel against my parents. That being said, I am still trying to figure out my place in the world as far as what I want to do. One thing is for certain, I want to make the world a better place and touch as many lives as I possible can in my lifetime.

To end my Freshamn Year in Review, I will set one major goal for myself. It is quite simple but I know it will mean a lot to me.  Enjoy the journey!