Yes, we've all heard that song that I'm referring to in my title; that is, unless you don't have access to the Internet, radio, TV, or any other form of media-based communication system. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm alluding to the song "Started From The Bottom" by Drake. You didn't really have to be a fan of his music or hip-hop/rap music in general to have heard the song. I can remember when it seemed like it was played every other song on the radio. Although it was a hit, Drake received criticism about the song because many people thought that Drake never really "started from the bottom".
Although Drake never started from the bottom, I have a story about "starting from the bottom".
On October 30th, 2013, I received the email from IU that I was accepted. I was absolutely elated. From the second I got that email saying that I was admitted to my dream school, I knew that my college decision process was over. I was going to be a Hoosier in the fall.
I had this idea with my friend. We thought "What if we made a Twitter page for all high school seniors who are IU admits?"
It seemed dumb and pointless at the time. We didn't care. We do plenty of dumb and pointless things. What is the worst that could happen?
I had wanted to find people that were just as excited as I was to have the privilege to go to IU next year.
So, I went home later that night and made the Twitter handle "@IUBclassof2018". I wasn't particularly happy with the name: mainly because I wanted "@IUClassof2018", which was already taken. I figured "I'll just throw in the 'B' for Bloomington in there".
My friend Ryan and I were the first two people to follow "@IUBclassof2018". For some reason, we thought 2 followers would be a good start for the @IUBclassof2018's twitter credibility. After that, I went to the @IUAdmissions page to start following people. I knew that they sent out congratulatory tweets to anyone who tweeted something along the lines of "Got accepted to IU! #IUsaidYes". If you could have seen how much time I spent looking through those tweets in the months of November and December, you'd swear I'd have no life.
Unfortunately, I lost my friend Ryan to the dark side. (He committed to Purdue). So, now I was running the page on my own.
I did most of the work on the page anyway, but I was sad to see that he didn't choose IU. Nevertheless, I was still happy for him.
Anyways, back to the story. At first, to say that the page wasn't a hit, quite frankly, would have been an understatement. It gradually gained followers here and there, but nothing too impressive. It wasn't until a few months ago, in about February, until the page really had gotten into full swing. More and more people followed the page each day. It wasn't until the page had about 600 followers that it hit me that this twitter page was going to be BIG.
Each day goes by now, more and more future college freshman follow @IUBclassof2018. To be honest, I love the feeling that I can connect and help so many of these people, whether it was helping them find a last minute roommate, letting them know what date and time the housing application launched, asking everyone what their major was, or simply tweeting a picture of Sample Gates with the caption "Who is ready to call this place home next year?".
This page, as of right now, sits at 1,139, which, by my research, is right up there with some of the largest "Class of 2018" college twitter pages out there. What started out as a joke, turned into something special. Through this page, I feel like I have helped a bunch a people make few friends and connections for the future. I know that I have met some people I'd love to meet and have as friends when I arrive at IU.
It's pretty crazy how far one little idea can go.
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