Growing up on the other side of the world, I had always wondered if American schools and colleges were actually like how they are portrayed in Hollywood movies. The school rivalries in basketball and football and the highly competitive atmosphere during a game was something I had always wanted to experience.
Indiana University game me just that chance.
I will never forget the first time I entered Assembly Hall with my fellow freshmen during Welcome Week. The whole place was packed. Everyone had their Cream and Crimson on. We entered to the frantic chant of “We are IU!” from thousands of students. As the basketball team was introduced to us and the fight song started playing the background, I had never seen or felt this kind of school spirit and in such a magnitude before. Every single student was cheering for the time and singing along with the IU song. And I cheered along as hard as the next person, even though I was new to the university, because I knew I had made the right decision in choosing Indiana. That was the first time I realized what it truly meant to be a Hoosier.
Over the past two years I have had some of the most enriching experiences here at IU, but the memory of my first time into Assembly Hall is something that will stick with me because it reminds me of what a great institution I have the privilege to be a part of.