Freshman Year (2008-2009)

Last week I wrote about Matias and I going through our old stuff and basically taking a trip down memory lane. I thought with our time in Aggieland quickly wrapping up I would do a four-part post talking about our experiences from each year and what, I feel, I learned.

First Football game!

We both moved to Aggieland in 2008 as freshmen at Texas A&M and we both lived in the Commons (a complex that unites four dorms in a middle, "common" area), but separate dorms. It was both of our first time really out on our own and being responsible for ourselves. If you know Matias, you know that he is very sociable and can easily make new friends. I, on the other hand, do not like going out of my way to make friends and am for sure not as outgoing as him (of course over the years he has started to rub-off on me). I joined the sorority Alpha Delta Pi (ADPi) and Matias joined a men's organization called the Brotherhood of Christian Aggies (BCA). Matias' roommate also happened to be in the same organization and they quickly made friends. Matias started hanging out with the guys from his organization and it left little time for us to be together.

Heading to our first events in our organizations

It was difficult for us to adjust as being a couple on campus when most of the new friends did not have a boyfriend/girlfriend. For me it was more difficult to get closer to people even the girls in the sorority. I am thankful that I sat next to Amy on the first day of film class my freshman year. Shortly after, I learned that she was in the same sorority, lived right down the hall from me, and we even had our mailboxes next to each other. I just say this was God's way of showing we were destined to be friends. A couple of weeks later Matias saw Paige standing in front of him with an ADPi bag and asked if she knew me (she didn't) but later that same day we both ran into her on the bus to West Campus. I started hanging out with her more and found out that her hometown was only 45 minutes from us (we got to know each other even better when I gave her a ride home for Thanksgiving.) 

With Amy at our first social!

With Paige during Initiation week!

Brent is another really good friend Matias and I met that year. Matias met him through a mutual friend but Brent quickly started hanging out with us all the time. Brent lived in the same dorm as me so we would always meet up and then go meet up with Matias. Matias and Brent quickly became best friends (also his Best Man in our wedding) and made plans to live with each other sophomore year. He is also an only child and Brent and I would always fight like brother and sister, so we decided that we would just call each other brother and sister. 

Matias, me, and Brent

Freshman year continued to be a bigger adjustment for me than Matias. I was homesick a lot (guess that came from being an only child) and was also actually sick a lot (I got the flu twice that year). I had a tougher time dealing with classes because I wasn't used to really having to study and other issues continued to come at me. Looking back I realized majority of my main issues came from not being active in church or a bible study and drawing away from God while Matias was continuing to strengthen his relationship. I will not lie and basically say this is where majority of mine and Matias' hardships came from that year. We weren't connecting anymore on the same level and while he was continuing to draw closer to the Lord, I was taking steps in the opposite direction. During that time I really didn't know who to turn to or even begin to explain what my emotions were, so we decided it would be best for us to take a small break (even thought we talked and saw each other everyday and basically still spent every second together) while we tried to figure everything out. This was the first time that year I really remember turning back to God to try and help me figure everything out. 

During ADPi Formal!

His answer for us to be together only came about a month later and after that we quickly started to talk about marriage. We knew after everything that we went through that year, someday in the future we would get married (of course it had to be after I finished college).

Before YUK Crush!

After YUK Crush!

If it wasn't for everything that we both went through that year, the lessons we learned and the friends we made along the way, I would say we wouldn't be in the place we currently are. We are both incredible thankful for this year and everything that God taught us.