When I first came to Penn State, I was afraid of getting lost in a big sea of people. Instead, I found a home, a place where I belong (cheesy, but true).
I found a place where people care about me, a place that fuels my strengths, passions, pride, and spirit in truly indescribable ways. A place that has instilled confidence in my career path and given me incredible friends. A place that has affected people so much so that it's been told if you yell "We Are!" at the top of the Eiffel Tower you are guaranteed to have someone say it back to you.
What a magical thing it is that Penn Staters are able to form connections such as this from simply just having been there. For these reasons, I quickly realized that I was found, rather than lost. I now know that wherever I go, today or after I graduate, Penn State is and always will be a part of who I am. It will guide my steps throughout the world.
Incoming Penn Staters, some of your most unforgettable memories await you. Although no list can truly capture the essence of Penn State's magic, here are just a few things to add to your bucket list during the best years of your life:
1. Meet random friends at 1:30 a.m. in the Canyon Pizza line
2. Eat Canyon Pizza midday and wonder how in the world you found it appetizing a few nights prior
3. Tailgate with your friends' parents and devour all their amazing homemade food
4. OrderUp Insomnia Cookies for a friend who's having a rough day
5. Have a heart-to-heart over some Kiwi fro-yo
6. Go shopping at Urban Outfitters and accept the fact that the only thing you can afford is the dry shampoo
7. Buy Emergen-C from McLanahan's during flu season
8. Partake in (or watch) the Mifflin Streak
9. Wait in the Waffle Shop line with your parents for Sunday morning breakfast while clearly still recovering from the night before
10. Eat a HUB salad on the High School Musical steps
11. Get thrown in the air/throw someone in the air during a football game
12. Sing “Sweet Caroline” in the freezing cold during the White-Out game
13. Much on the heavenly chicken baskets
14. Go to Nittany Mall one time and then promise yourself you'll never go back
15. When in doubt, get Chick-fil-A
16. Experience the oozy, heavenly sticky buns from the Diner
17. Try the Peachy Paterno ice cream at the Creamery
18. Experience the creamy chocolate milk at the dining halls
19. And also the legendary West Hall cookies
20. Try every dining hall while you’re at it
21. Join an IM sports team
22. Shout "We Are!" on a Friday or Saturday night on the Bloop or Whoop
23. Shout "We Are!" at a tour group
24. Go to a sporting event for every sports team
25. Have the dorm fire alarm go off while you're in the shower
26. Or be woken up by it at 6 a.m.
27. Wait at the elevators with those ginormous carts with all your stuff in it on move-in day
28. Experience the Wal-Mart move-in day madness
29. Buy a bagel from Irving's
30. Stand in the endless Starbucks line at the HUB
31. And also in the never-ending Chipotle line downtown
32. Take cute pictures with the flowers in the Arboretum in Spring
33. Kiss someone in the Arboretum cave near the caterpillar statue
34. Go to Bagel Crust on weekend mornings in your pajamas/sweats
35. Order a Fat Bitch from R U Hungry
36. And a calzone from DP Dough
37. Order the chocolate cake from The Deli
38. Eat pokeys at 2 a.m.
39. And Wings Over
40. And also Yallah Taco
41. Try to take BiSci3
42. And/or Soc119
43. Spend all your money on a Fiddlehead salad
44. Go sledding at the big hill by the baseball stadium
45. Get a milkshake from Baby's
46. Go on a date at the Corner Room
47. Join a THON committee or THON org or anything else THON related
48. Go to 100 Days of Thon
49. Experience the magical final four hours of THON
50. Riot something (the occasion will undoubtedly present itself)
51. Lounge by the pool in the summertime
52. Spend a summer taking classes
53. Make it onto the Campus Story
54. Hike Mount Nittany
55. Sunbathe on the HUB lawn anytime it's over 50 degrees
56. Lie on Old Main lawn at midnight with your friends and contemplate life
57. Ride the bike taxi with Vamos
58. Go ALL OUT for State Patty's
59. Do Nittanyville at least once
60. Get a strawberry and Nutella crepe from Underground with fries and a burger
61. Say hello to Mike the Mailman if you ever see him visiting campus
62. Have a frat member ask you, "Who do you know here?"
63. Crash a random apartment party
64. Become a pro at daylonging
65. See a football player in real life and take a creepy picture
66. Have a deep talk at the duck pond next to Alumni Hall
67. Wear the green hat on your 21st at the Phyrst
68. Karaoke at the Gaff
69. Attend Sex Quiz Night at Dark Horse
70. Experience 55 Days at Café
71. Talk to the Willard Preacher
72. Tailgate the Blue and White game
73. Get caught in a snowstorm/rainstorm
74. Steal a fracket
75. Get nachos from Taco Bell
76. Get nachos from Champs, as well
77. Give a super dirty look to a Pitt fan who comes to visit
78. Give an even dirtier look to an Ohio State fan
79. Buy a Nittany lion car magnet
80. Go to the homecoming parade
81. Buy an overpriced shirt from Metro
82. Take a selfie with the Nittany Lion
83. Attend a Power Remix class
84. Suffer through a Butts and Guts class
85. Get lost in the IM building
86. Fight over the equipment at White
87. Run on the track in Rec Hall
88. Attend Movin' On even though you have 4 finals to study for
89. Pull an all-nighter in the Stacks
90. Google the name "Betsy Aardsma" while you're there
91. Get a chocolate chip croissant at Au Bon Pain
92. Memorize the "Dear Old State" alma mater
93. Ice skate at Pegula ice rink
94. Stand in the S-Zone
95. Have your non-State friends make fun of you for only wear PSU merch whenever you're home on breaks
96. Take a Lion Shrine picture your first day of school
97. Take a Lion Shrine picture in your cap and gown
98. Brag to your non-State friends about how amazing your school is
99. Successfully do the "We Are" chant outside State with a group of complete strangers
100. Go back for Arts Fest
