Written by: Emily Cole
My freshman year at the University of Arkansas was wonderful, and the dorm I live in played a major role in my experiences and helping me meet new people. I currently live in Hotz Hall, and the first event I remember attending is a dance party in the first floor lobby during the first week of the fall semester. I remember meeting so many people there, several of whom are now my closest friends. Early in the fall semester I went to the freshman pep rally with my fellow residents even though pep rallies aren’t usually something I enjoy, but it was a good time because I was with good people. Another event from the first semester was a field day in which everybody competed with the residents of other floors. We went to an open field and participated in a bunch of athletic games. Perhaps my favorite event was the night the RAs taught us how to swing dance. We all got dressed up and walked to the union for swing dancing lessons with our fellow residents – that was a lot of fun, and it’s not something you would typically expect of a dorm event. There was another swing dance this semester, and it was just as grand.
The RAs on my floor are also great at planning events for our floor. One night, they set up tie-dye supplies in front of Hotz, and now I have multi-colored socks to remember that night. Arguably the most memorable part of my first year in college was when my RAs invited us to go cliff jumping at Lincoln Lake. This was in the first few weeks of classes, and I didn’t really know anybody yet and had never been cliff jumping, but I went anyway. It is definitely one of my favorite memories of freshman year. I made friends at each of these events, so my point is that you should go out and do stuff even if you don’t know anybody there. That’s one of the things I’ve learned this year. Meeting people and making friends is important, and what better way to do it than through dorm events?
