Lost and Found

Lost. One simple word to describe the start of college. All of the sudden you're in a new place with new people in a new environment and at some point you cannot help but feel lost. You don't feel like exploring campus, instead you just go from one building for class then back to your dorm because that's what you know. You don't want to venture around for fear of being even more lost and feeling even more out of place.

Fast forward to your second semester of freshman year. Recruitment is coming up! You’re nervous, you’re still feeling lost but get put into a group for rounds where you realize you are not alone. Going through rounds you talk to a number of different people. Some whom you may connect with more while others not so much. Finally bid day comes and you really did not believe you would find a group of people so quickly who would welcome you and allow you to feel like you belong and you’re not alone. But that is just what Sigma Kappa did for me.

Everyone always says how you have to find yourself before anything else but for me it was different. Deep down, I have been there all along but I just needed the extra push and confidence to believe in myself. Being a part of Sigma Kappa for almost two years has helped me believe in myself whether it’s with schooling, leadership, or my anxiety. It has taught me to work hard but not overwork because I am only one person, to try my best no matter what knowing that I have a group of people to fall back on if necessary, and lastly it taught me to not sweat the small stuff.

Anxiety is hard - you feel trapped within your own body especially when you are in a new place filled with new people who know nothing about you. It is comforting to know how many people go through the same thing and how calming it is when you have someone who looks up to you to see all you have accomplished. My anxiety has turned into confidence for knowing I am not alone, I was lost but now I’m found.

Found. One word to describe my journey - from finding my friends to finding my home away from home to finding my strengths to finding myself.