Dear incoming in-house girls,

It's getting to the point in the summer where you'll start picking out bedding, crafts and decorations for your new room in your new home. You are about to live with 100+ of your sisters and you are just about to die of excitement. You have waited an entire year (or two) to finally live in that huge mansion you call home. No more dorm life, no more apartment life, no more having your own room or own bathroom, because it is almost time to share a room with 1-4 sisters and the bathroom with basically your whole pledge class and then some. Throughout your semester or year of living in-house there are some things that are bound to happen.

First and foremost, say goodbye to your 8-10 hours a night sleeping schedule. For the first couple of weeks you'll be lucky if you even get 6 hours. You are going to be in everyone's room all of the time, everyone's going to be in your room all of the time. You're going to forget where you live and where other people live because it will be a huge chaotic slumber party for the whole year. There will always be girls screaming, laughing, blaring music and whatever else girls do. There will probably be nights where it won’t quiet down until 2 a.m. So, don't plan on going to sleep early, ever, because that is most likely not going to happen. Just when you get comfortable in bed a sister is going to convince you to go with her to Whata, Sonic or anywhere else you can go at 1 a.m. And you can't just go get food and go home. You have to roll down the windows and sing and laugh and drive around until you both realize you have an 8 a.m. the next day. You are going to wake up every morning and hate yourself for not prioritizing sleep. You will have days where you are going to get out of class, fall asleep and wake up five hours later but that's okay, because the fun you're having with your sisters is worth the sleep you're missing out on.

You're going to get pressured to do more things. Whether it's to go out, watch a movie, go get food or just sit there and procrastinate on homework. (Which that will be the death of you.) I mean really, who wants to learn chemistry when your whole floor is going out or having a movie night? Unfortunately you can't give in every time someone's asks you to do something. So it's important to make time for school too. This year is going to be even harder trying to balance everything out at first. After a month or two you'll find that happy medium for school, sleep, friends, and Netflix. But, those late night Coke runs and those "let's go drive around and listen to throwbacks" will be those special little memories you can’t get back. So sometimes, go out with your friends, go join in on their ridiculous shenanigans because those are the times you don't want to miss out on. You don’t want to look back and think, “They had so much fun, I knew I should have gone with.” Sometimes, it's okay to procrastinate or put off studying to go enjoy being in college and enjoy what college is all about. You will never get this time back, sure you can make up an assignment or paper but once you miss out on memories, they’re gone.

You are going to lose stuff and you are going to find stuff. You will let someone borrow something of yours and four months later look for it and won't know where it went. You will search everywhere for it, you’ll go through all your GroupMe’s and all your texts, until you find it. You'll let people borrow stuff and you will forget whom it went to and when. And sometimes, you will be searching for something to wear in your closet and you'll pull out a romper you have never seen in your life. Then you'll remember you borrowed it from someone 3 moths ago. Get used to sharing your closet with 80+ girls and being able to search through 80+ girls' closets as well. You'll never have to buy another outfit, shoes or jewelry again. It's basically like living in a shopping mall but you don't have to spend money but you do have to give it back. A good tip though; keep in your phone notes of who borrowed what and what you borrowed from who. Trust me it will come in handy.

You are going to get annoyed. Anyone and everyone has gotten annoyed sometime during their living-in experience and it's inevitable. Someone is going to come into your room in the middle of the night and turn on all of the lights. Someone is going to wake you up during you're much needed nap. Someone is going to eat your food. Someone is going to use your stuff. Someone is going to park in your spot. Someone will ruin your Netflix session. You won’t be able to get any privacy. You will have to go through 4 different rooms, before you can find a couch or chair that isn’t taken. And last but certainly not least, every single day at least 20 people will text the GroupMe needing to be let in, because they always forget their key fob. This is all bound to happen. There will be times you will find yourself sitting in your car because that's the only place you get any privacy and peace and quiet. You will have to learn how to live in a completely different way than what you are used to. But don't let small things here and there ruin your living-in experience. Always be patient and give everyone the benefit of the doubt. After all they are your sisters. And you signed a contract so you can't really move anywhere else.

There is always going to be someone there for you. You are going to make relationships with girls you have never talked to. Some of my closest friends now are girls I didn’t even know the year before I lived-in. Don’t tell yourself you don’t need any more friends and don’t shut anyone out because you already have your “friend group”. You can honestly never have too many friends. When you live with all of your sisters, you will never be alone. You will never celebrate by yourself, you will never cry by yourself, you will never study by yourself and you will never watch Netflix for 9 consecutive hours by yourself. There will always be someone there for you, someone to go to and someone to make memories with. This will be a year you will never forget. You think you’re close with your dorm friends you met freshman year? Just wait, because nothing can beat the closeness you get with your sisters your sophomore year.