The New Me

Since I have come to Baldwin Wallace I have seen a few changes within myself.
For starters, I have become much more outgoing. I fell like I am able to interact better with more people than I ever have before. I would say this is largely due to knowing so few people when I came here. All throughout high school I had a very small, close knit, group of friends with whom I spent all of my time. Although I truly value those types of friendships,  coming to college has taught me the importance of being able to branch out beyond those few people and really build a network of people. I am thrilled to have had this change, as it has been something that I have been needing to do for a while, and I feel happier because of it.
I would also say that lifestyle has become more relaxed than in the past. At home I share a room with my neat freak sister, who thinks that one piece of clothing on the floor or an unmade bed is the end of the world. Not to mention that my mom has to have everything looking perfect all the time. I on the other hand do not mind a bit of mess, it helps me feel more relaxed and focus on my task instead of always trying to avoid a mess. In reality I keep my room very neat, well, most of the time, but not being yelled at to clean up all the time makes me feel at ease and relaxed where as at home, I am high strung and stressed. I love that I am able to just kick back and have those moments to myself now.
Although these have been some big changes in my life, the biggest and most exciting change for me is the freedom that comes with college. I don't really mean the freedom from my parents, but more the freedom to be with people whenever I want. Where I am from, there are no sidewalks, if you want to hang out with your friends you have to get in a car and drive ten or fifteen minutes to their house. And if you actually want to go and do something, like go out to eat, or go bowling, or see a movie, it's at least another ten of fifteen minutes of driving. So, that being said, the freedom to be able to walk over and hang out with people or to walk to a restaurant or a grocery store, is huge to me. I really enjoy being able to come an go as I please and be able to live the life I want when I want and with whomever I choose.
All in all, I love Baldwin Wallace and all of the changes that it has instilled within me.

My Friends

When I came to BW, I knew one other person, who I happened to meet the summer before college. Other than that knew of some people who attended BW, but I hadn't met them before. I first met some of my friends at my orientation in the summer. From there I met some of the people that they knew. I met most people by chance.
I would say that my original friends have definitely changed. Some of them I am still close to, but most I am not. I have certainly met some new people and as I join things, go to events, and branch out I feel as though I am always meeting more.
It is easy to make friends in that everyone is very nice and easy to get along with, but I feel like making close friends is more difficult than I had anticipated.