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Attending My First Wedding

It was a Tuesday morning and I had just walked out of the entomology building after taking my fifth exam this month. With the wedding being only four days away, it was time to switch gears from “test mode” to “wedding prep mode.”

Saturday was the wedding of my close friend Andi, whom I met through an organization at Texas A&M, so I knew I had to make my attendance a priority. But because this was my first time attending a wedding, I had no idea what to expect or how to get ready for it. The one thing I did know was that I needed to find a dress.

I quickly paced back to my car and drove straight to the mall. As I was shopping for a cocktail dress, I began to realize that I may not find what I am looking for, since many stores had already switched to autumn attire.

Luckily, my final visit to Macy’s was my saving grace—I found a cute red dress with spaghetti straps…with a discount, too!

Friday morning came and I ran through the day’s agenda in my head: go to work, attend class, pack for Dallas, and head out as soon as I can. I left for work at 6 a.m., made it to class at 10 a.m., and got home after working out at 3 p.m.

A quick shower later, I began to pack and managed to head out around 4 p.m., and after about four hours of jamming mostly to Billie Eilish, I made it back home just in time to have dinner with my parents.

It was now Saturday, the day of the wedding. While having breakfast, I typed out my schedule for the week so that I was ready to tackle two more exams as soon as school started.

Soon after breakfast, I curled my hair, did my makeup, and slipped into my red dress just in time to head out at noon. After what took forever to find parking, I got to a massive church and sat patiently for the next chain of events.

Few minutes later, “Here Comes the Bride” started to play and I saw my friend with her almost-husband walk down the aisle. As breathtaking as it was, the ceremony ended quicker than I thought.

Four hours later, the reception started and everyone gathered at a hotel venue in McKinney. There were chandeliers in every corner of the room, tables draped in white silky tablecloth, and name cards placed above our gold dinner plates.

After the three-course dinner, the bride and groom had their dance and the bridesmaids and groomsmen shared their speeches about the newlyweds (cue all the tears).

Then came all the dancing. Lights were dimmed and “Cha-Cha Slide” blared through the speakers. Everyone grabbed their friends and significant others and proceeded to “slide to the left” in unison. What a great time!

As someone who had only heard of what happens at weddings, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the experience as a whole was intimate, yet so much fun all at the same time. I am so grateful to be have been invited to this wedding and wish the newlyweds a happy life together.

Congratulations you two!

Off-Campus Living and New Roommates

Erin H.I am finally a senior (WHOOP) and this is my first time living off campus.

For the first three years here at Texas A&M, I lived in the same residence hall with the same roommate. Fortunately, it was modular style, so it was bigger than some of the other dorms, but the kitchen was not very clean, the sharing spaces were messy, and there was not much privacy in the room itself. However, I lucked out because my roommate and I got along really well and we are still great friends.

While the living conditions were not great, the community and the friends I met made up for it.

I could not recommend enough, especially for freshmen, to live in the dorms their first year. Not only is being on campus much more convenient because of its proximity to dining places and classes, but it shapes you into the Aggie that everyone should strive for; you get involved in so many events on campus, learn about all the traditions, and are surrounded by peers to whom you can relate and connect.

But as three years came to an end, my roommate and I decided it was time to move on. We wanted to find a nice apartment with two other close friends and experience the off-campus living for ourselves.

Boy, has this been a learning curve.

Living with one other roommate was one thing but living with three other girls was an entirely different ball game. All four of us had different ideas of what we considered clean, figure out what temperature to set the thermostat, and establish common house rules…that change weekly.

Not only that, but we were all new to off-campus living so we had to adjust to waking up earlier to get to class on time and set aside time to make food like real adults.

What a time to be alive! I have to say…it is nice to have our own kitchen and our own rooms to crawl back to when we need some alone time, but most importantly, I love girls’ night whenever we get the chance to have one.

Recently, we had a new addition to the “family”…and his name is Khaki. My roommate adopted this Catahoula/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix at 3 months old, and he is one spoiled puppy. He has every toy you could ever imagine and better jackets and clothes than I will ever have, but that’s OK, because he deserves it.

Currently, he is being potty trained and learning new commands every day. He does make mistakes here and there, but he is the one of the most well-behaved puppies I have ever met. I always say he’s an old soul trapped in a little body. We can’t wait to see him grow into a big dog!