I cannot truly express with words how amazing my freshman year at the University of North Alabama has been. I came into college expecting to be tired and stressed out of my mind from tests and classes (which sometimes I am), but it was not really that bad. It has been a memorable experience and I hope that by sharing and reflecting on this past year that maybe your fears about coming to college will be calmed and that this is a sufficient update on my life for my family and friends who I don't see as much anymore.

One thing that made my freshman year so memorable and amazing is UNA itself. It is a beautiful campus with plenty of great things to do on and around campus. I can go chill in the game room, or go work on my muscles in the student recreation center almost every day. Even though the working on the muscles hasn't happened as much as I would like, the classes and teachers that I have had so far have been amazing and seem to genuinely care about how well we are doing in their class. Although, we have to reciprocate that care to really get any help, which is a good thing. I couldn't imagine myself at any other university.

Another thing that has made my freshman year so great is the opportunities to get involved on and around campus. At the beginning of the year, I applied for and was chosen to be apart of Freshman Forum. It is the freshman branch of the Student Government Association and helps us freshmen learn the ropes of student government. I had two great advisers in there who did an amazing job of helping us learn. I was in the service committee and through that I was able to be apart of some awesome service events! Also being apart of the wonderful honors program has opened many doors to new experiences and friendships. I also got involved with a group called Encounter, but that ties more into my next point.

The absolute best part about freshman year and I guess every year is the opportunity to meet new people and build relationships that you never would have had if you hadn't gone to college. I found such friends in the first several months of being at UNA and we are still close. I would name them all but for fear of forgetting or accidentally leaving one out I will abstain from doing that. Anyways, these friends have are on track to be lifelong ones. We are bound by our love for Christ and people that out of it formed a new RSO called Encounter. It is a group that meets every Sunday and Wednesday at 8pm to just love on God and learn more about his Word. Through this new amazing people keep coming into my life! Every single one of them is a blessing.

I cannot imagine what my life would be like if i hadn't come to the University of North Alabama. Thank God I did.