A few words to my spirit group

As a freshman from a small town, it was somewhat overwhelming to come to a university that is over 10 times bigger then my town with a population of a little over 3,000.

For a while, it was hard to find a community where I fit in. Sure, I joined other organizations, but I still felt like I hadn’t really found my place here. At least, that was until I saw a certain Spirit Group named Texas Hype tabling, the founders yelling and giving handouts telling everyone to join.

I remember the day perfectly: I was walking back to Jester from the Moody college, skateboard in hand, decked out in my black pants, black and white plaid button up, and black fedora, not really looking like a person who would be looking to join a spirit group.

As I was walking by their table in front of Gregory gym, a certain founder, Casey, caught my attention. She was yelling at the top of her lungs, saying “If we had hype, we should join Texas Hype!”

I was just going to pass by, act like I didn’t notice. My mentality was if they wanted me to join, they would reach out to me. Again, I didn’t really think I was spirit group material. It just so happened that they did just that.

Casey handed me a handout telling me when info sessions were. She described the group as “the newest and best spirit group on campus.” I told her if I remembered, I would go. What she didn’t know was that I had made it a point to put it in my calendar so that I wouldn’t forget.

At the info session and recruitment events, I was a bit of a wallflower, just watching everyone, seeing what they were like. All the while, I was debating if it was really right for me to try to join.

Would I fit in? Be accepted? Am I too inverted and to myself to even begin to make friendships with these people?

Volunteering with The Project

When I found out that I had made it in the group, I was thrilled. I was going to be in the first class of Texas Hype, that was a big deal to me. I was going to help the start of a great organization. We were placed in one of the four “families,” with one of the four founders being what I call Head of Household. At first I was nervous. I didn’t know any of these people, and I was still scared that I wouldn’t fit in. Boy, was I wrong.

As the first semester progressed, I became more comfortable with the other members, I was able to relax more. They took me out of my comfort zone, all the while making sure that I was okay. I became more outspoken, I was happier, I had finally found my place within the university with a great group of people. I went into the group expecting not to fit in, to be the odd one out, but that wasn’t the case at all. I was accepted because I was true to myself and that was all they wanted.

Texas Hype Winter Formal with my family, A Tribe Called Hype

Being a part of this group has helped me build friendships and meet great people. Someone is always doing something and then inviting others to join, whether its just chilling in the SAC, having a group study session in the PCL, or taking a trip to Zilker on a nice day, there is always something going on with Texas Hype.

Our second semester, we have grown from a family of forty, to a family of seventy, and as I continue my involvement with this awesome group, I can’t wait to see the great things we will do together as a family in the future.

Thank you Texas Hype. Because of you lovely people I finally found my place in this great university.