Finding My Place

The day I received my Jacksonville State University acceptance letter, I was SO excited! I always wanted to get away from my hometown stereotype and experience something new. Even though I was pumped for this new adventure, I was still a little nervous. Everyone from my high school decided to go to one of the bigger colleges—you know what I mean, Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss, you get the point. Soo I decided the best way to fix not knowing anybody, would be to rush! I can get pretty nervous around people I don’t know, so I thought this was going to hold me back when it came to getting to know each sorority. Turns out, I was completely wrong—every other girl there was just as nervous as I was! Somehow it made me feel more comfortable knowing that even the girls who were already in a sorority were just as nervous about meeting me, as I was about meeting them!

I had one goal during recruitment—to find a sisterhood that was the perfect fit for me. I can remember going into Phi Mu’s room and talking to Sara- she is basically a ray of sunshine mixed with an energy drink. Her outgoing, caring personality made me feel so welcomed in a time when I was so unsure of what seemed to be the biggest decision of my life!! She and I talked about

everything—Phi Mu, our families, all the things that were important to each of us. That’s when I knew Phi Mu was where I was meant to be. What felt like weeks later—it was just a few days, I opened my bid to see those two pink letters I couldn’t stop thinking about.

That same day I met my three best friends who I stuck to all throughout freshman year. When I say “stuck with”, I mean we were inseparable. We showed up at every event together, we lived together, we did basically everything together.

I slowly began to realize that I wasn’t socializing with anyone in Phi Mu besides my three besties. I’d always heard “you get out of Phi Mu what you put into it”, so I decided to put more into it. What’s the worst that could happen? I decided to start small… I would try to have at least one real conversation with someone outside of my three friends at any given event I went to, whether it be an intramural, a sisterhood event, or even chapter. I started going to every event that I could, and I saw that each of my sisters were excited to see me. It wasn’t just the core four who wanted to hang out with me. Quickly I found a group of sisters who invited me everywhere they went—I’m not joking when I say I even got the invite to go grocery shopping. I grew closer to these girls, and I could see a difference in myself, in who I was becoming. I loved this girl, this new version of myself. My sisters didn’t judge me because I hadn’t been around. Instead, they were welcoming, they were uplifting, they gave me some of the best advice, they reminded me why I became a Phi Mu.

Ever since then, my sisters have helped me grow to be the best person that I can be, and they have helped my love for this sorority grow more than I thought possible. These girls encouraged me to run for a committee head which I was verryyy skeptical of at first, but I got it!!! These girls were able to see me in a leadership position that I would’ve never seen myself in. They saw potential in me that I couldn’t even see!! Even on my worst days, my sisters hold me accountable, they push me to be the BEST me that I can be.

Well, if you’re still reading, that means you know a good bit of my journey in Phi Mu. It has been a wild one for sure, but that means the advice I have to give is worth a little more!! Step outside your comfort zone—go talk to that girl you’ve never met but secretly want to be best friends with. Be courageous & do something that you never thought you could do—go for something you would have never seen yourself accomplishing. Most importantly, have fun. As a junior, I can say our college years go by way too quickly- enjoy them while we can. My last piece of advice is that the saying “you get out of it what you put into it” is so true- live by that. I learned the hard way, but it has been so, so rewarding

- Lauren Holt, PC '18