The Move of a Lifetime
Molly got out of her jeep and started unpacking her suitcases. She walked through the sliding doors and into to the LAX airport suddenly regretting everything. Her phone was vibrating almost constantly from the group message she had going on with her friends, the lucky ones who decided to stay in sunny Southern California instead of moving to Pullman, Washington, a small town somewhere by the Idaho border. The heart emojis and crying emojis she was receiving from her friends just made her want to take back her decision even more. She went through the motions of going through customs and boarding the plane but felt numb the whole time.
As she moved into her dorm room, she immediately realized just how shy she really was. It seemed as though everyone were already best friends, bonding over their matching Target comforter and already talking about what they were going to wear at the party that night. It wasn’t as though Molly looked unapproachable. She was your typical California girl. Her blonde hair was curled and she was naturally beautiful, without an ounce of makeup on her freckled skin. Despite her friendly face, no one seemed to talk to her. Frustrated by her introvert personality she went into her single dorm and watched the rest Season 4 of Gossip Girl. Talking to her today, Molly admits, “I literally didn’t say one word the first month and a half of freshman year.”
After about three months of attending classes, eating alone in the cafeteria, and not making one friend, Molly was well aware she had made the biggest mistake of her lifetime. Tears rolled down her face as she started looking up plane tickets back to her safe and sunny California home. As a senior, Molly looks back and sees how dramatic she was being but she also added, “I was just so lonely all the time. I felt like I messed up and was embarrassed for even trying.” This all changed though when she met Teddie in her Anthropology 101 class.
The class was at 8 AM three days a week and Teddie asked Molly for her number the first day of class just in case she needed someone to sign her in. Molly thought it was a funny thing to ask someone but wasn’t about to say no to someone trying to interact with her quiet self. They sat together every class, well the ones that Teddie actually came to, and never talked, but would smile politely and share pencils when needed. One day Teddie asked Molly what she was doing that night. Molly thought of the real answer to that question, which consisted of ice-cream, Netflix, and calling her mom, so she decided to answer with a simple “nothing” instead. Teddie told Molly to come to her sorority that night because they were doing Informal. Molly had no idea what that meant but said yes, because at this point who cared. She was planning on going back home after the semester ended anyways. And lets be honest, Blair and Chuck’s love triangle could wait.
Molly tried on five outfits that night and even considered putting on makeup. After remembering she had no idea how to even put on makeup she decided she wouldn’t make this her first trial run. She met up with Teddie outside the dorm and walked to the sorority house. Teddie typed in the door code and in they went. Molly walked in and the nerves hit. Reflecting on that moment today Molly says, ““I’ve never been so out of my element. Talking to hundreds of sorority girls in one day. I’m not gonna lie it was my personal hell. It took me a board game and an hour of crafting to finally open up. But once I did, I realized I was totally comfortable and people actually liked me.” Teddie walked Moly home after since she lived about a block away. The whole walk home Teddie talked about all the cool things she does in her sorority and how many friends she had made. She said it was perfect for Molly and Molly agreed.
It all happened so fast. The next week Molly found her self with a pen in her hand signing a document saying she was a Chi Omega in the Beta Beta chapter. She found she was so busy with sorority functions, community service obligations, and hanging out with her new Big, she didn’t have time to miss home. She met other scared timid freshman in her house that she immediately related too and bonded with. The move from California was a big one for Molly. Looking back Molly says she learned a lot and said, “You have to put yourself out there. Being put in new situations is scary and intimidating. But that’s how all the best stories start. I would not be who I am today with out going through what I did the first month or two of school and realizing how much better I could do. Just do it! Its scary but worth it.”
