A Meeting

As I sat in my dorm room on Second Little, I knew this was my final opportunity.

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Then the knock came at the door.

 

I opened it to find two guys adorned with Greek letters. My hopeful invitation quickly disappeared. They had the wrong room. They were looking for David.  

 

As quickly as it started, my fraternity rush experience came to an end.

 

The uncertainty consumed me, as what I thought was supposed to be my college experience was crumbling. The plan had always seemed so simple — join a frat, get into the business school, enjoy college, go back home with a secure job. The first two steps were quickly heading south, jeopardizing the latter two.

 

Desperate for a way to fill the time, I stumbled around Maize Pages, eventually finding contact information for the sports editors of The Michigan Daily.

 

I’d always liked sports, and I’d always liked writing. I figured that was a good place to start.

 

So I typed up an email that I now know was too formal. I attached a resume. I explained that I’d never written for a newspaper, but I’d really appreciate an interview.

 

I got a response at 2 a.m., which now makes perfect sense to me.

 

“Just come to a meeting this Sunday, there’s no application,” it read.

 

***

 

I walked into the newsroom, searching for Greg.

 

He was the one who had emailed me, and he wasn’t hard to find.

 

Then he ushered me into a conference room full of strangers, and began with an icebreaker. The third person to speak enlightened us about how they had received a hickey the size of a tennis ball that weekend. One guy was wearing a suit and tie.

 

I questioned what I was getting myself into, until I didn’t. As the icebreaker moved on, I realized I was surrounded by some characters. They were weird, but in a good way. I was feeling it. I knew this was a community I wanted to be a part of.

 

And finally, they threw me into the ocean without a life preserver. I was shadowing a writer at a soccer game that weekend. After that, I’d be writing stories on my own.

 

The old panic was replaced with a more immediate one.

 

Oddly enough, it felt good.