Will L.

Photography by Natalie Bell

If you’re reading this, just know that you belong. 

As a student who knew only a few faces prior to SMU, I was nervous with anticipation to get started on my college journey. I was thrown in the middle of rush events, career fairs, classes, and other activities. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I was going through the motions that would make you think that I did. 

Going out night after night and spending more time planning my weekends rather than focusing on academics allowed other people to dictate my emotions. Would I get invited to this event? Would I get a text to hang out with these guys? Would these girls like me? Depending on these small things as a boost of confidence or happiness proved to only show my ignorance and immaturity. It’s easy to let some of these “norms” of SMU culture consume you. I felt them barreling down on me, so I don’t blame you for allowing it to happen to you too.  

These expectations of what I should be doing caused me to beat myself up over simple interactions, and I began to internalize what I said and how I said it. “You can easily become your own enemy” as Faith said in her letter and I echo that message. I could see not only myself but my friends and classmates crumbling under the pressure they put on themselves. Many of them would worry who they’re seen out with, which sorority invited them on a rush date, and what fraternity texted them for their formal. Even though you are consumed with it and surrounded by it in the moment, just know that it doesn’t matter in the end. You are who you are and you are at SMU for a reason… to be yourself. There’s a place for you here, it just takes pushing yourself to become surrounded by people who support your future on this campus.  

As I slowly realized this, I began spending more time in organizations such as AKPsi and Student Senate where I felt grounded in the reality of the real SMU student experience and journey. I began to care less of what others think and more about the ways to better myself and those around me. This doesn’t mean you won’t have good and bad days, but it’s about having the best community around you as support during both. Finally, I was able to also find this in a large group of guys as well, and it is why I decided to join Greek life. I have begun to reap the benefits of these groups as support and places to let off the steam from school, family, or whatever may be affecting my life in the moment. These people give me a group to cry with, a group to laugh with, and a group to experience the world with.

So, push yourself to get involved on campus and not to simply let one organization, one sports team, or one set of friends dominate your life as so many people do. Go out and meet people, learn their story, and pass on your own. SMU is a campus filled with these stories from a wide range of backgrounds, cultures, and experiences but it is a matter of seeking out these people that will determine if you see and hear them or not. I’ve learned over this summer while studying abroad in Spain that life is too short to sit around and wait. There is a world out there and SMU is allowing you to experience the very best of it. Introduce yourself to the guy who’s a Student Senator, the girl who interned in Sri Lanka over the summer, or the teacher who got an Ivy League degree and runs a study abroad program here on campus.    

I’ve found myself fortunate enough to be supported by these people from various walks of life on this campus as I start my second year. SMU is a special place and a catalyst for incredible things to happen in your life. So live in the moment every day (not just the weekend) while on campus and find these people. SMU is not a place to expect these things to be handed to you but a place to be proactive in using its resources and tools. 

As someone once told me, “Many people say SMU is the land of milk and honey, but I argue that it is the land of cows and bees and it is up to each student to transform it and reap the rewards.” You were each given a place here and you each belong here. So soak it up, go out, have fun, meet someone new, and live every day to the fullest in “the land of cows and bees.”

Will L., Southern Methodist University

Connect With Us

To follow IfYoureReadingThis at SMU on Instagram, get in touch with our chapter, and learn about more resources available to SMU students, visit our chapter’s homepage.

AUTHOR CONTACT

This author has opted to allow readers who resonate with their story to contact them. If you would like to speak to the author of this letter about their experience, please use the form below.