I always knew I was going to rush for a sorority. After watching all those sorority movies growing up I knew this was definitely something I wanted to be a part of. All my friends in high school could totally see me being in one. Once I got to college and registration for spring rush was happening, I couldn't be any happier. This would be a time I would find great new friends and I would have many "sisters."

My experience during rush was not what I expected at all. Of two choices I recieved a bid from the sorority I preferred and gave it a chance. I participated in all the new member activities, where I met nice people from my pledge class. Everything was going well, but in the back of my mind I was thinking about the expense and how sorority activities would be demanding of my free time.

I stayed with the chapter for about three weeks and after much consideration, I dropped the sorority. I was slowly realizing that sorority life was very consuming of my time and felt that it was very cliquey. In the midst of this happening, I did make friends with some of the girls. I thought we could remain friends after I dropped the sorority, but the truth is, a few girls stopped contact with me. Thankfully there are still some girls I can call my friends.

 I do not regret dropping the sorority. I have all this free time to focus on myself and my school work and get involved in other clubs on campus.  I also was able to start saving money that would be spent on future travel experiences.  It took longer than I thought, but I am slowly finding good genuine friends who are in sororities and some that are not.

Overall, a big take away from this was things don't always go as planned and all you can do is roll with the punches and give it a shot.   

For about the past two weeks I have been working at a public relations firm. It has definitely been an amazing learning experience and I highly recommend that you take the opportunity to get an internship. I will be producing content for my eportfolio which will be great for future employers to look at.

The company I am interning at is really tiny. There are about four other workers and me in the office. I have really been given responsibly that some of the other workers part take in which is really beneficial to me. I can see what is done on a daily basis for clients.

A majority of my time is making lists of media outlets that will be sent press releases. The work is tedious but there are great sources the industry uses to help make it easier. I have also been given the opportunity to go to meetings and client events which have been great. It is really eye opening seeing what the industry is really like.

This is just the beginning and I have six more weeks left. I can't wait to see what is in store!

It has been about a week and a half since school ended and I had a lot of time to think about how crazy my first year of college went! I thought of 3 things that sum up what I learned.

1.) College is harder than you think. School work on top of extracurriculars is difficult to handle. Make sure that you form relationships with professors so they can help you along the semester.

2.) People will come and go. You have to accept that not everyone can be your best friend and most people you meet will just be people you wave to. Don't stress if you haven't found your friend group.

3.) Make sure you find things that make you happy.  Don't join clubs because everyone is doing it or because it might look good on a resume. Do it for you and only you. It may take you time what makes you happy but it will be worth it in the end. 

College is an amazing place to take advantage of new opportunities. Over any breaks I try to do something exciting instead of going home. This past spring break I went to Disney World with a class at Elon. We were able to visit all four parks and part take in the Youth Education Series. My class was able to go behind scenes and see hidden secrets of Disney. Here is a photo story of what I learned about in Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square: http://kvalerio.weebly.com

The greatest part of this experience was being able to explore Disney World and notice things that you would not have noticed as a kid. You really grow to appreciate it. Also, it was a great opportunity to do this class alone and have the opportunity to meet new people.

My advice: Take advantage of school planned break trips; they can be really educational and fun. Also, put yourself out there and sign up for the class alone!

It really is true your first semester of college does fly by.

So much is going on that you never have a dull moment. You are trying to balance your course load while also trying to start friendships. It can be very exhausting.

TIPS

1.  ATTEND THE ORGANIZATION FAIR: some people will tell you to only sign up for a few things but I think you should sign up for anything that sparks your interest then go from there. You will start to get emails from the clubs you signed up for and then from there you will go to the meetings and feel it out. Once you know they are not for you drop it and put some more of your time into a different organization.

2. GO OUT: when the weekend comes you are just going to want to crawl into bed and binge watch Netflix after a long week of classes but you really shouldn't. This is prime time to get closer to your friends and have fun!

3. DON'T FEEL TEMPTED BY THE DINING HALL FOOD: having a meal plan allowing you to eat whenever and wherever is really tempting. Your biggest meal should be breakfast and then it should gradually get smaller. Make sure you don't forget your veggies and try not to over do it on the carbs.

4. TAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF: it will be hard at first to manage everything but make sure you take time for yourself. You need to make sure you get proper sleep and relax when you need it otherwise you will burn out. Trust me it's possible to never have to pull an all nighter.

5. YOUR PLANNER WILL BE YOUR BEST FRIEND: you are going to need to stay organized not only for your school work but for your social life because it can get a little hectic.

6. EXERCISE: this is really important. You might end up saying you don't have the time but you have to make time to take care of your body. Whether you have 15 minutes or 60 minutes anything is good enough.

7. DON'T SPEND TOO MUCH MONEY: you pay for a dining plan so don't be ordering Dominos or Chinese food when you don't need to be.

8. PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE: don't be afraid to ask people for their numbers from class or be afraid to actually hit them up. After all college is about making friends!

9. GET A JOB: it will be nice to have pocket money to spend when you want.