Dear Gumbo,
I don't believe you fully understand the impact you all made on me. Stripes is goofy and tiring and crazy, but the things you guys taught me have stayed with me all freshman year and will continue to do so.
On that first day, I was a nervous wreck. New people make me standoff-ish, as I am a little shy when someone is first introduced to me. I did not know a single soul there at all, much less in my small group. You guys were not the kind of people I hung out with in high school, and I was worried I wouldn't fit in with you guys. But thanks to our awesome Stripes leaders (Ben and GG 5ever), we took to each other like ducks to water.
From that first night on, we had so much fun. Waiting for fake snowballs, running around in the hamster balls, singing "Bing bong, bing bong..." as we walked down the stairs, learning the hand motions to Chinese Bandit in Death Valley, it didn't matter, we had a blast. I will never forget the night we planned our skit and drew out our banner. Sleep deprivation had never been more fun. Or that day where we intimidated everyone on the parade grounds with our chant right before we would crush them at the tug-of-war competition. We were sweaty and tired, but we didn't care.
That last night, however, sealed the deal on our friendship. We stayed up all night, ran (well, some of us walked) around the dorms, and watched the sunrise on top of the Indian Mounds. Seeing the sky light up with streaks of orange and pink has been, hands-down, the most amazing moment of my college career so far. I had never felt more accepted and more excited to start classes at the best university in the world.
We made friendships. We laughed, we freaked out, we complained, we showed our weird sides, we were honest and open with each other, and I would never have had the pleasure of getting to know you all if it hadn't been for Stripes.
Thank you guys for being amazing. Thank you for giving me the tools to branch out and get involved on campus and in Greek life. Thank you for giving me the confidence to be my own person and not apologize for it.
With lots of Gold Streak love, Em.
