October 31, 2012

One Month Down, A Lifetime of Pirate Pride To Go

After spending a month at ECU, I can truly say that I bleed purple and gold.  There is such a sense of community and school spirit here! Even though it’s only been a month, I feel really close to many of my fellow Honors College classmates. It’s great to be surrounded by so many people who have the same drive and work ethic as me, yet are super friendly and fun to be around.  After living in the same hall together for a month, showing up for the same Honors College events, and spending time in our Honors Leadership Colloquium together, we’ve really gotten to know each other in a relatively short amount of time. These people are now some of my closest friends—we go to lunch together, walk to class together, hang out in each other’s dorms, and go to the football games together.

Speaking of the football games, nothing will give you a stronger sense of Pirate Pride than attending one of ECU’s football games. When you stand in the student section in a sea of purple and gold, and everyone is chanting the same cheers at the top of their lungs, you can tell that we really love our school.  The atmosphere is indescribable and something you can only understand if you go and experience it. I’ve also made a lot of friends during the football games.  At the first game, I only knew the small group of people that I came with. By the third home game of the season, I knew everyone around me and we were all cheering and having a blast together! It’s funny how a big school like ECU is able to have a small-community feel.

I think that the Honors College has truly helped me to transition into college life. The Honors College faculty is helpful and supportive, and they care about what Honors College students want and need out of their college experience personally, socially, and academically. The first month of college—although a lot of fun—was very stressful.  I had to get used to living away from my family, moving into a small dorm room with a stranger, juggling my rigorous academic schedule, and figuring out exactly where I belong at ECU.  I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but the Honors College has helped ease the process by helping me bond with the other honors students (we went sailing the very first weekend!), providing me with volunteer and internship opportunities, and offering information sessions. For example, next week they’re holding a meeting at the Mamie Jenkins building so that Honors freshmen can talk about registering for classes with upperclassmen Honors students.

My newfound support among the Honors College has allowed me to confidently pursue new things at ECU. I’ve always loved writing, so I took a chance a couple of weeks ago by submitting one of my short stories to ECU’s Rebel Magazine and ended up winning 1st place in their fiction category! Although I’ve never danced, I spontaneously decided to go tango dancing in Mendenhall, and I’ve never played volleyball, but I decided to join an intramural volleyball team just for fun! Some of these experiences turn out really well, and some don’t turn out as well as planned, but I’ve learned that college is all about trying new things, making mistakes, and figuring yourself out.  And at the end of the day, I have a network of Pirate friends with whom I can celebrate my victories and with whom I can shake off my mistakes.

I could go on and on about all of the reasons why I love ECU, but the best part about college so far is the feeling that I’m making friends that I’ll have for a lifetime. ECU is the total college experience—it has challenged me academically, socially, and personally, but now I have close friends that are growing with me and helping me every step of the way.