Friends and Family...the SLU way.

When I came to college 3 1/2 years ago, I was a quiet, reserved, anti-social person that had lived a sheltered life (ok, that's kind of an extreme way of putting it). But really.  Freshman fall at college my friends consisted of the girls on the volleyball team and about 6 girls on my floor.  That was it.  I didn't talk to anyone in classes, I didn't talk to other athletes, I didn't even talk in U101.  Fast forward 3 years.  I'm now the President of SAAC and run FCA.  I even taught a U101 class this semester.  That means I know a lot of people now.  I hang out with seniors, I have friends on every team, and I even know the freshmen.  Between a Christmas party last night and a SAAC event tonight, I saw a lot of athletes.  It's a lot of friendships that I couldn't have imagined having my freshmen year.  A lot of people I didn't think I'd ever talk to.  But through being an athlete, I was brought into a family at SLU.  It was a family where I grew and was able to meet so many people.  They surrounded me every day at practices, in the weight room, at sporting events, in classes, and around campus.  Walking by, they would always give me a smile and say hi.  One of the special things about being a Billiken is the family that you have within the athletic department and how they make your time at SLU special. That family has been something that I took for granted. It's something I'm going to miss and it won't quite be the same next semester without it.  Thankfully, I'm not that quiet girl I was freshman year anymore and can hopefully make friends a little quicker than I did back then.  It just won't be quite the same though.