Dallas' Change Over the Last Semester

 Over the past semester, the first one of my college career, I have changed quite a bit, for better or for worse. I came to the University of Kentucky, in a new state with none of my old friends. I began pledging The Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, which may have been the biggest factor in my complete change of who I am. This is the goal of pledging, much like joining the military, the goal is to break down the newcomers, and turn them into the men you want them to be. I pledged, and eventually joined the fraternity, gaining the experience of being back on the very bottom of the food chain as a part of it. This was a feeling I had hoped was long gone after being homecoming, and prom king of my high school, head captain of my high school track and cross country teams, and overall seeing myself as a leader prior to coming to college. It was a humbling experience, that gave me somewhere to put all my time, after I did not have competitive running as an option anymore. The reason I had this opening was because of a risky decision I took, that changed the course of my entire college career. After discussing my options with my high school coach, I decided I wanted to try out for UK's Track team for decathlons. Long story short... I did not make the team. I also found out later that the Cross Country team picked up a few freshmen that I could have beaten regularly. This is incredibly disappointing news to find out now, but at the same time I could not imagine having taken Track and Cross Country over my Fraternity. It was a choice between keeping my old life, or developing a new one. This is what brought me to UK over the D2 and D3 schools that I could have run for, been the big fish in the small pond, and relived my high school career. I made the decision to come to the big school, and unknowingly made the decision to leave my life as a competitive runner behind. Along with all of this, how I spend my free time, what I see as admirable traits in people, and what kind of a person I want to be has been changed, once again, for better or for worse.