The Georgia Institute of Technology is my home. This school is my favorite place in the entire world. However, I'm going to be completely honest with you for a few hundred words.

Georgia Tech sucks.

I heard this from every college site and UGA-bound student before arriving at Tech. I desperately hoped it wasn't true and that people were exaggerating.

It is true, they weren't exaggerating. Georgia Tech, indeed, sucks.

It's hard. The busses are aggravating. The line at Taco Bell is way too long. You'll get a 54 on your Calc test (but that's okay because the average was a 48). You'll cry and curse professors. You'll curl up in a ball and hide from work and responsibilities. You'll feel defeated. Your friends at other colleges will maintain their 4.0's. They'll always be dressed nice for their 8am's, too.

Guess what? That's okay.

Tech is what you make of it, which is what every person from every college is going to tell you about their own school. If you want to “get in and get out,” go to another school. If you want a normal degree, a normal job, and a normal life, do not come to Georgia Tech. It’s different here because we are different people with different goals and different expectations, and that’s what makes us the best. This is why it will suck. You’re going to be confused, lost, and mostly, doubtful. You’ll be pulling all nighters at the CULC, and you're going to be miserable.

Guess what? That's okay, too.

You’re also going to see sunrises out the window while you finish a project, and you won't be alone. You will look around and there will be others just like you (tons, actually). You will meet people who are going through the same things, and you’ll support each other. You’ll get involved in activities, sports, or clubs that remind you who you are and what you can do. Georgia Tech will remind you who you are and what you can do.

Tech will make you feel a lot of things very intensely, but that's good. That's growth. We are not here to stagnate. We are here because we expect better of ourselves, our education, and the world. It sucks because Georgia Tech expects these things of us, too. You're going to feel weaker than you ever have before, but I promise you're going to feel stronger than you ever have before.

You'll drown in CS homework. You'll swim in the Campanile.

You will feel like you're at the bottom of the food chain. You'll feel like you're on top of the world when you stare, awestruck, at the skyline from the top of campus buildings at 3am.

You'll feel like you're losing the battle between you and Physics. You'll scream "Fight, win, drink, get naked!" while we score another touchdown.

You'll never feel like you have enough time. You can literally 3D print a clock if you'd like.

You may pay for Chex Mix (your dinner) with dimes at a gas station. You'll get a high-paying job right out of college.

You go to career fairs and interviews and meetings. You go to Georgia Tech.

Yes, Georgia Tech sucks. But then, it's beautiful.

People here are passionate about whatever it is they’re doing, whether it’s their research, their juggling, their photography, or the app they're creating. These people work hard. These people want to learn. Work done here may be small (if you’re developing nanobots), but it is never small-scale. Tech is going to present you with the opportunities, but you have to take them.

Georgia Tech is ready if you are.