The Best of Breese House

  My freshman year exceeded my expectation is many ways. First of all, I hadn't heard the best things about my dorm after my roommate and I chose it. When we first met last summer we talked about our orientation experiences and somewhat cautiously danced around the subject of what we expected. Finally, we both admitted the people in our orientation groups from our dorm seemed strange. We worried that we wouldn't make friends, and that the people were all going to be weird or antisocial. So many people told us that they had found their best friends in their dorm, and both of worried that might not happen. 

The rest of the summer I sat on these thoughts, stressing about what it would actually be like. This was along with the worry that came along with going off to college in a new city in a new state. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time. I was definitely starting a new chapter of my life, one with independence but also with responsibility.  It scared me. 

So when my roommate and I instantly clicked with not only each other but also with some of the people around us, it felt amazing. I knew right away that I didn’t have to worry about making friends or finding a place to fit in. We found people to hang out with, to go to dinner with, to go to football games with; we found friends. Right on our floor we had a community and a family away from home, and I have some of my best memories of freshman year with the people on my floor. 

We cheered on the Badgers together, we sledded down Bascom Hill, we visited the Dells, and we roasted marshmallows together. Yes, we did a few other things in between, but I would like to share some of my favorite moments of the year.
      1. The very first house meeting where someone kept asking Alex (my roommate) to hand them the notecards we needed and she misheard them so she kept offering them more cookies.

2. Basically every time Nan would walk up behind someone, breaking down barriers of personal boundaries, and not say anything—waiting to be noticed.

3.     The failed-attempt of group messaging any time someone wanted to play futsal. If only the guys had iPhones too, yet none of them do, which makes group texting next to impossible. Also, watching Brett try to use his computer or call it "The Google" was pretty amusing.

4.     Our impromptu trip to Science Hall, in which Evan disappeared to scare us within seconds of getting there.  It worked.

5.     That time I stapled my thumb trying to make scripts for our movie so that we could participate in the Chadbourne Olympics (in our dorm), and then the House Fellow on duty said he couldn’t help me because it could be a “liability”. The pain wasn’t so much a fond memory, but I always get a sympathetic chuckle when I tell the story. (Also, thanks friends for helping make that cheesy video.)

6.     Heath becoming an honorary member of Breese House—even though he wouldn’t change dorms he was there more than that one girl who’s name I don’t know because she never came into the lounge. Oh wait, that wasn’t just one girl. The point it is he was basically part of the family.

7.     That time Evan became the toilet king. Enough said.

    8. I loved how we celebrated every birthday basically the same way: door signage, cake, and the Nitty Gritty. And I LOVED the video that my friends made me when I was gone for the weekend for my birthday.

    9. Our Secret Santa resulted in many laughs. But I think my favorite was on How to Become Storch. I wish had the list of things to share with you. But I will give you a couple of tips: white v-necks, sweats, and Chobani.

1  10. The bon fire was our final Breese House activity, and instead of talking about it, I am going to leave you with the movie I made.

Live. Laugh. Breese House.