I’m from St. Louis, Missouri which is about 5 and a half to 6 hours away from the University of Tulsa. Therefore, when my family dropped me off during orientation week, I had no idea what to expect. No one that I knew was attending TU except some people I met on social media. I thought the transition would be extremely difficult. During the first two days of orientation week, I felt very lonely and didn’t know what to do. Although it wasn’t hard at all to make acquaintances, it had only been 2 days so I wasn’t completely secure just yet.
However, that all changed on the 3rd day of orientation. I got to really get to know my orientation group where we got to bond from the little things — such as favorite colors — to the big things — such as life aspirations and goals. Some people that I met the night before invited me to go to the Gathering Place with them, which was absolutely amazing! Being from out of town meant I didn’t know much about Tulsa, but it was really great to just be in the car with people as they explained what Tulsa is like. After that one kind gesture, the fun experiences haven’t stopped! I’ve met so many incredible people throughout orientation that I constantly see around campus. Those few days changed my entire perspective on this university. I went from not knowing anyone to knowing dozens of people that I can talk to, sit with at lunch, study with, eat with, or just hang out with. From football games to walking to ACAC, there are always people that I know.