When I think of The Hills (one of MTV’s greatest reality shows of the 2000’s) I definitely don’t think of the profound life advice. Usually what comes to mind is a single, mascara stained tear running down Lauren’s cheek, the supernatural healing powers of Spencer’s crystals, and how “homeboy wore combat boots to the beach.” But nuzzled between all of Lauren, Heidi, and Audrina’s dramatic fights and cringe-worthy hookups were some really great pieces of advice. Lauren will always be that girl who didn’t go to Paris. Instead of taking the opportunity of a lifetime, she decided to stay in L.A. and live her normal life. Don’t be a Lauren Conrad; NEVER be the girl who didn’t go to Paris. That doesn’t mean you stress out about doing research after freshman year or freaking if you don’t have an awesome internship by time you’re a junior. It means that there are so many great things that you can experience at Vanderbilt and in Nashville so you should definitely do them!
We all get four years here, and if we’re not careful they can turn into four years of opportunities we didn’t take. Don’t be scared to join a club you just discovered. Don’t be worried about auditioning for your favorite on campus a cappella group, and definitely don’t be afraid of applying for that exec position that everybody wants. They say that college is where you find your tribe — where you discover yourself. Well, that won’t happen if you never “go to Paris” so to speak. Nashville is such an amazing city (take it from me, a Tennessee native.) to explore and discover different things you love. Vanderbilt has dozens of clubs to join and hosts an insane amount of events on or close to campus so the only way you’ll get to go through your four years at Vandy without having a once in a lifetime experience is if you decide that “you always want to be remembered as the girl who didn’t go to Paris.”