Life "Alone" in Denver...

When I first moved to Colorado, I knew I was going to be living alone. I thought it would be so hard to make friends and explore the city. Growing up in a small town, you know everyone and always have a friend nearby. I have always been the type of person that liked to be surrounded by others. While I know it is important to spend quality time with yourself, I love being around people.

When I graduated from Appalachian State University, I knew that everything would change. Moving out of my home state, leaving my friends and family, and starting a new university that I knew nothing about (besides a few Google searches). My comfort blanket of being able to drive 2 hours home was changed to a 3-hour plane ride.

While I expected the solo trips to get dinner, I didn't expect the amazing people I would get to spend my time with "Out West."

Before classes started, I was sure that I would not have anyone to hang out with but I got lucky. One of my sorority sisters from back home was spending her summer working in Denver. What are the odds that someone I knew would be spending the entire summer in Colorado? Considering I knew absolutely no one in this city, this was a gift from God. Rachel made me feel so comfortable in the place I was about to call home for the next two years. I 100% believe Rachel was the reason I did not go crazy the two months I was in Denver before classes started.

The Media, Film, and Journalism Studies Department at the University of Denver truly did

everything in its power (within COVID protocols) to make sure that every student felt included. During our program's orientation, we got to meet everyone in our cohort as well as the professors we would be

spending the next two years learning from. During this time, a group of us did what any Gen Z students would do, make a group message to stay in touch with each other. We were all new to the area and needed as many friends as we could find.

During our first little bit of classes, we made friends with some people outside of our program which led us to meet some of the foreign exchange law students from Spain. This helped grow our friend group and allowed us to learn about Spanish culture while teaching them about American culture. From going downtown, attending hockey games, to having Friendsgiving, our first quarter in Denver had turned out to be very successful. With the success came sadness. Our friends from Spain had to return home to finish their degrees in their home country. This left a hole in our friend group that we were not able to fill.

While this was happening, I also had a friend from college move to Denver! While she has a full-time job and is busy all the time, we try to hang out as much as possible! Emily has been my go-to friend to go to Avalanche hockey games with! While she knew absolutely nothing about the sport before moving here, she has grown to love the game. After Christmas break, her old college roommate, Kate also moved to Denver. This means I had another friend to take to NHL games and while they turned into Avalanche fans, I have cherished all of the memories I have created with them! But as always, Go Canes!!

Needless to say, the adventure I thought I would be taking on alone has been far from it. I am so thankful for the people I have met so far during my time in Denver. This city has given me so many opportunities and I cannot wait to see they take me!