I came to Penn State 3 years ago with some pretty high expectations. I was going to get perfect grades, eat healthily, go to the gym, go Greek, find a boyfriend, but most importantly find that amazing group of girls that would be MY people.

Well, I get to school and, lo and behold, NOTHING goes my way. Big thumbs down for each of those big ideas. I found out C+ are super easy to get, freshman 15 is a REAL thing, men suck, and that finding that group of friends can be a lot harder than it sounds.

Don't get me wrong I found some of the best friends first semester, these few girls will be standing with me at my wedding one day and are still my Day 1 OG's. I had the friends, but they were all separate and I was still hoping for that group.

Well freshman year goes by and it's a great place here, but I had no roots. I was never excited about coming back here after a weekend at home or a holiday. This place gave me severe anxiety. It got to the point where from February of freshman year to December of sophomore year I had a transfer application for about four different colleges open at all times on my laptop. It had gotten really rough, but I decided to give it one more chance spring semester sophomore year, and if I was still a mess, I'd take some time off.

Spring semester rolls around and I decide "what the heck," I might as well try rushing a sorority. Ten days of recruitment later, and I was so exhausted and so nervous. Well. I found my home, I found my girl gang. I became 1 of 86 "sisters" and within that 86 I found the 12 most crazy, extra, loyal, psychotic girls I could have ever hoped for. These are my go-to girls for anything and the happiness I feel when I think about how these 12 girls would be there in the drop of a hat for me is more than I could ever have hoped for.

Here are 12 perks of finding your girl gang:

1. They're always ready to dance away the weekend.

Thursday morning hits, and inevitably someone writes in the group chat "alright ladies, thirsty Thurs, who's ready to dance all night?" and following that, we spend the entire weekend together dancing and laughing our way through Penn State. Jumping from place to place and laughing at our awkward encounters and monumental stumbles while we dance the weekend away.

2. They are always ready to bury a body For me.

Everybody has bad luck with guys here and there, it's just part of life. We all support our girl gang when some jerk guy breaks our heart, and we are ready to start a hitman service. 12 girls would instantly jump to help me bury a body.

3. Endless positive feedback.

Having a girl gang of 12 is like having 12 loud, supporting fans. Anytime you share something about your day or ask if you look good in this dress, these 12 are the first to grow your ego so big your head explodes. Nothing makes you feel better than endless love from the girls.

4. You're never bored.

With 12 girls always ready for an adventure, it's impossible to be bored. Whether we are dancing the weekend away or having a picnic, my life is NEVER dull with them.

​5. New closets.

Self-explanatory in itself. After three years of wearing the same black crop top out, it's such a relief to have 12 other closets to look through. Plus, you never have to worry about finding a dress for a formal when there's literally at least a dozen dresses rotating through all our closets.

6. Best friends to travel the world with.

I found girls with the same passion for travel as me, and now I have half my girls ready to go to Europe with me in the spring and the other half ready to visit at the first chance they have.

7. Always making memories.

Every moment with these girls is a memory. From 3 A.M. slumps in D.P. Dough to a wild Wine Wednesday, these girls make this place my home.

8. Never fail to make me laugh.

It's pretty hard to get sad when you have 12 girls writing in the group chat daily about their biggest fails. I can always be seen walking to class actually cracking up as I read the summaries from the nights before or their latest embarrassing moment.

9. First ones to offer a shoulder to cry on and support.

With 12 girls ready with hugs, there's no more going home by myself and just feeling sad alone. Now I have 12 girls that if I texted I needed help or needed someone to come over, they'd all be banging down my door or calling me to help with a pint of ice cream and a bottle of wine!

10. Make the shitty activities a little more bearable.

Finals week suck, exams suck, spending all day in the library on a Sunday SUCK, but these activities get just a bit better when you can have your girl gang by your side commiserating with you.

11. Family meals.

I love a big family style meal, and nothing is more fun than a big family pancake breakfast before game day or taking over the Corner Room in May before we said our sad summer goodbyes.

12. Sisters who will be with me the rest of my life.

These girls have only been in my life since January, but when I'm with them everything just seems right. The nuances of day to day life and all the other stress we have to deal with every day is just alleviated when I'm posted in the HUB cramming in last minute homework with them or getting ready for an exciting Friday night! These are and forever will be my GIRL GANG!