I’ve always known the MSU Dairy Store had really delicious ice cream, but eating a big scoop of Sesquicentennial Swirl after my first day of class made that ice cream a little more special. Sitting in the student section at the football game on Saturday was an amazing, albeit chilly, experience as well. Although I’d gone to Spartan football games before, joining in on the crazy cheers, chants and collective gasps gave the game a whole different flavor.

MSU students have so many opportunities to meet people from various backgrounds. Living in the dorms, going to class, eating in the cafeterias, hanging around campus, attending clubs and group meetings — these activities and others are wonderful chances to run into interesting people who would have been strangers in any other setting.

Occasionally, when I go to lunch in the cafeterias around campus, I’ll sit by a random person and start up a conversation. For such a sprawling campus, MSU feels so personal. At the same time, it’s big enough to see a wider variety of people.

At first, I was a little skeptical about starting my higher education here. I was worried that by coming to MSU, I would be too close to home and leftovers from my high school life would show up unexpectedly and tamper with the college experience I wanted. I’d never been unhappy during high school, but toward the end I knew I wanted to get away and go where I wouldn’t know everybody’s name.

Becoming more mature will require me to break away from my old high school crowd a little. I wanted to change in a way where I could explore my own interests and grow as a person.

Thankfully, my initial worries haven’t been much of a problem for me. It’s nice to have friends around who have known me for a long time, and sometimes seeing a familiar face is exactly what is needed to feel more at home on campus.

However, it’s important to make sure boundaries are pushed and I step out of my comfort zone. I’ve been doing my best and although I’ve seen some of my friends around campus and kept them in my life, I’m forging new relationships and having a good time with people from my floor, my roommates and others on campus.

Not everything has gone smoothly, as is to be expected when one is thrown into a new lifestyle. I took the wrong bus on the second day of class and ended up being half an hour late because it took me back to the bus station instead of Conrad Hall.

I’ve also sufficiently confused Bessey and Berkey Hall, showing up at one when I was supposed to be at the other. So far I’ve tried to take it in stride and chalk it up to experience. Slowly, walking and biking is becoming familiar.

Figuring out campus has been a little difficult, but even so, I still have my pride. Though one might see me squinting as I observe a campus information map on the side of a bike path, I won’t be seen blatantly carrying a campus map around. I’ll save pondering over directions for before class, thank you very much.

The best part about being a freshman is that things finally start to happen. Independence is no longer a dream, but a reality. New relationships are built, new interests form and choices are made that could affect the future in a very big way.

Everything is changing at once. It’s stressful, frustrating, even scary. But the first few days I’ve been here have made me realize how ready I am to face any challenges college can throw at me. All I feel now is excitement for whatever the future holds for me here at MSU. I can’t wait to continue this college adventure.

Lauren Gibbons is a State News staff writer. Reach her at gibbon52@msu.edu.