Looking back, I cannot believe the school year is almost over. I can still remember the first day I arrived on campus, scared to death that I wasn’t going to fit in. And for the first couple weeks, that was true. I did not make friends on my cross country team, my roommate and I were nothing alike, and I felt like I was the dumbest kid in every single one of my classes. Thank goodness that has all changed now. My girls from cross country are amazing to me; they put up with all my quirks and laugh at most of my stupid jokes. My roommate and I ended up being best friends, it turns out opposites do attract. And as for the feeling stupid, it turns out that is how every other freshman in my class felt. I was hiding behind my own fear of rejection. I did not take the time to leave my safe little box of my friends from my hometown. Now that I have, I realized how much more there is to life. That everyone has a different life story, and different circumstances that have shaped who they are. Even among our relatively small campus here at Albion, even among a small team are drastically different life stories. If you take the time to listen, really listen not like in class when you are just trying to stay awake, you will find stories that make you look at your own life in a different perspective. And isn’t that what college is supposed to be all about?
Bio
Katie Broekema is a freshman at Albion. She is from Schoolcraft and went to Schoolcraft High School. She is involved in cross country, track, Athletes In Action, and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Currently in her refrigerator she has many many water bottles, a casserole from her mommy and strawberries.