Being the new kid is hard...that is, until you realize that everyone's the new kid too.

I don't think I have to tell you that being the new kid has a large element of scary to it. 

I remember that first day of MSW Orientation: August 17, 2011. As I was making sure my hair was all in place, my makeup done, and my outfit not too casual but not super professional, my hands shook and the butterflies worked in overdrive. It's been five years since I've had to be the new kid.

I always hated being the new kid when I was little because I never felt like I belonged anywhere. So, as I headed to the orientation I was apprehensive, knowing that all of us will be working very closely together for the next two years and we will eventually be colleagues. 

So, as I've learned to do from too many Alpha Xi events and recruitments, I put my game face on and sat down. 

Everyone was so nice and clearly as scared as I was. Throughout those two days of orientation I met many people, including three people who I now, even after only knowing them for a month consider to be my close friends. 

They have made all the difference in my approach and attitude toward the program. They're my support system. It's like for the first time in my life I feel comfortable, accepted, and like I belong. The three of them are so fantastic and even though we're all vastly different we can still sit around the lunch table, contemplate life and ask each other questions without worrying about offending. That's not to say that we definitely don't sit in the back of class and occasionally make sarcastic comments....but its nice to always have a group to work with on group projects and people to have Spiceworld movie nights with.

Being the new kid is hard...but if you take a chance, it can turn out to be better than you ever could have imagined.