My first year here at UWM is steadily coming to a close. When the school year started I was unsure about a lot of things. Was I going to like it here? Was I going to like my classes? Was I going to meet people and actually have friends? Was this finally going to be the school for me?
The previous year I had done a semester at another college and my answer for all of those questions were no. I didn’t feel as if I belonged to that university and felt myself slowly drowning in the things around me. I knew I had to make my escape from there or else be pulled down into the dark depths below.
So you could only imagine my hesitation to start all over again this year. I figured I would give it a shot and that I would try to start a new. I had a friend from high school who already went to school here and reached out to her about one of the organizations she was in. After chatting with her for a little bit she convinced me to give it a shot. I mean what was the worst that could happen? I only show up once?
I reluctantly and tentatively went to their first meeting of the year. I was super nervous about going there, my surroundings were new and so were the people around me. Everything seemed alien and strange. To my surprise there were tons of people at the meeting which only increased my nerves about this whole situation.
After the meeting I chatted with my friend and some of the other people who were already high ranking members of the organization, as if I wasn’t nervous enough! Somehow I convinced myself that this was something I was going to be a part of. I was going to be part of Love Your Melon. Even though everything about it scared the living daylights out of me, I knew this was an organization I was going to be in. Their mission and what they strive for was something that I personally connected with and knew that no matter how much it scared me I had to give it a shot.
I quickly joined them here on campus and joining was the best decision I ever made. Being a part of such a wonderful organization has allowed me to pursue something that I am passionate about but also create wonderful and meaningful connections. The connections with the people in this organization helped pull me out of the depths I felt were dragging me down.
As the school year has progressed I have been able to brush off the past and emerge with a new outlook on college experiences. The connection with the people who are my fellow members have solidified my place here at the university. I have been able to grow as a person and become more confident in myself through this organization. I’m not the same shy and nervous person who walked into that room at the beginning of the year. They’ve helped me through the struggle of turning something that’s alien into something that is home.
I sometimes wonder if I would still be here if I hadn’t have gone out on a whim and attended the meeting. Would something else have dragged me out of the depths? I brush these thoughts aside because I know I was meant to fall in love with this organization and the people who are a part of it. I was meant to find them and build my home here.
The depths weren’t meant to drag me down, the depths were meant for me to find a place where I could swim. UW-Milwaukee is where I was meant to swim.