Fish Camp

Alright, so for those of you who didn't know... I'll be attending the greatest University in the world next year called Texas A&M University :) So, that's gonna be an adventure that I'll make sure to write all about. However, before an Aggie becomes a freshman officially, an Aggie must go to Fish Camp.

Because my entire family basically graduated from Austin, I didn't know anything about being an Aggie. I didn't grow up listening to the War Hymn or knowing anything about Yell Leaders, and I especially didn't know how amazing the Aggie family truly is.

You could say that I was going into fish camp completely blind, and that's alright. For some reason I thought the entire time we would learn to dance like country people and be forced to bond. I was forced into doing the latter. I say "forced" in a light manner though, because it was more of an opportunity than an obligation, you get me? When we all arrived  originally, we were seated in the gym and I met a few girls who were pretty cool. In the gym was also an opportunity to see some of the counselors. Then we were moved on the bus to be taken to fish camp and we immediately started to "speed date". This is where the people on the aisles would sit and chat with you for 2 minutes and then switch. I'm not sure how many people I talked to, but it was quite a lot. After a while I started to feel as if I was on a loop saying "Hi my name is Emma and I'm a Middle Grades Education major. What about you?" and then continuing from there. Also, being from a town that hardly anyone knows about is so difficult. People ask where you're from and then it turns into a long explanation. However, as broken record sounding as it was, I had a lot of fun getting over the fact that I'm awkward and meeting new people was also tons of fun.

Anyways, after arriving at the camp, we had to search for our luggage. You know that scene in Parent Trap where Lindsay Lohan has to dig for her luggage at Camp Walden? Well, that's what I felt like. Getting to our cabins was also stressful because I wasn't quite sure which specific cabin was mine. I walked passed it and had to go back to find it.

One of my major weaknesses is the fact that learning names is extremely difficult for me. I had just come off of a bus from talking to tons of people, and then I was placed in a cabin with a bunch of new ones. We all got along all week, but to be honest I never learned everyone's names. I had like half of them down.

After getting settled, I'm pretty sure we all went to sit in a session or something and learn more about A&M. We had a lot of those, but they were informative and helpful. However, I felt bad because I had so much trouble paying attention when the sessions were in the mornings. My eyelids were way too heavy to have a focused attention span.

I wish I had started with the best part first, but I've heard it's better to save the best for last. One of the best parts of fish camp was my DG group, Fully Clothed and Unafraid International. Cool name, right? Right. In these groups, there were about 12 of us and we had 2 "parents". The "parents" were two college students that were our mentors (mom & dad). We met with these groups a ton and got to talk about stuff and ask questions about what the upcoming year might look like. We also all got to know one another pretty well and attempt* to eat meals together. The DG group is full of people that I couldn't be more thankful for. Because of these people and our "parents", my nerves about coming to A&M were easily thrown away. I feel as though I have a solid group of people to hang out with when I finally move into Aggieland. Plus, they make me laugh.

Thank you Fish Camp for reassuring me that I'm able to make friends despite being afraid to talk to people. Thank you for giving me some solid new friends for the future. Most of all, thank you for showing me the Aggie network and the true meaning of what it is to be an Aggie in the Aggie family. I couldn't be more thankful.

Emma Jane

P.S. Stay tuned to hear about my college adventures!! It should be a rollercoaster :)

*attempt: where's Patrick???