Latest / The Wesley Word / A Fresh Start

Transcript

A Fresh Start · The Wesley Word

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_10: Welcome to the Wesley Word.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_10: Welcome, freshmen.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_10: Welcome to Clemson University.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_10: Welcome to Clemson Wesley.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_10: And as always, welcome to the Wesley Word.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_10: Today I'm joined by the Freshly leaders.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_05: Hey!
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_10: Can you guys a couple of you have already been on the podcast before, but can you guys go around and introduce yourselves?
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_05: My name is Brouwer.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_05: I'm a junior Parks Recreation and Tourism Management Major from Charleston, South Carolina.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_04: My name's Julia.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_04: I am a sophomore health science major from Somerville, South Carolina.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_07: And uh my name is Griffin, and I'm a junior plant and environmental sciences major from Greenville, South Carolina.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_10: Awesome.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_10: Thank you for joining me.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_10: What's been your favorite thing that you've gotten to do with Wesley so far?
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_04: Go first.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_04: Mine was the New Orleans trip.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_04: Um, over spring break, we went to New Orleans.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_04: It was like 20-ish, I think, of us.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_04: And it was just like a really good time.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_04: It was right when I started to get really involved in Wesley, and it was right when I figured out like this is my place, this is where I need to be.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_04: And it was just really great to bond with everyone and the 12-hour van ride, stop at Bucky's, and we did some really great service for the people in New Orleans.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_04: It was just a really great trip.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_04: I loved it.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_05: So funny story about New Orleans, you're gonna hear people refer to Julia as Stinky, because at New Orleans she got nicknamed this just one night.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_05: We were in one of the rooms we were all sleeping in, and we were just hanging on there talking, and Stinky goes, you know, I need to go take a shower.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_05: And Andrew Wetzel, who rip, he's gone now, but he graduated, he's not dead.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_07: We love you, Andrew.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_05: Much love.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_05: Um, but he just goes, Yeah, go shower, Stinky.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_05: And we all just kind of looked around at each other and from there on decided her nickname is Stinky.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_05: Not because she smells, she smells great, but it just makes sense to call her Stinky.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_05: So good new ones, ma'am, and good plug to go on all our trips.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_05: Not gonna lie.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_04: Sometimes I respond to Stinky more than Julia because there's so many Julia's in Wesley, so it's okay.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_04: I promise it's okay.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_05: One of my favorite Wesley moments is the retreats we go on.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_05: We go on a fall and a winter one, and it's really just a weekend where we get to get away from school and from life that's happening in Clipson and just spend really good time and community together and go through like whatever little lesson our speaker is giving that weekend.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_05: And it's just a really fun time because you usually have all afternoon on like that Saturday to just go do what you want.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_05: So a lot of people like go in the town we're staying at or like hang out, play games, and it's a really good way to just chill, get to know each other, and spend a lot of time together, which is super fun.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_07: I don't want to make this whole podcast sound like an ad read for going on trips with Wesley, but again, the uh all the trips we do are super fun.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_07: Um, another one we've done that we've all been on is the beach trip at the end of the semester.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_07: But I'll branch out a little bit, and this isn't really necessarily one moment, but helping lead worship on Sunday nights as part of the band is what got me returning to Wesley and helped me build connections with people because I'm not necessarily great at reaching out sometimes, at least, especially my freshman year, it was really tough.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_07: And so I was lucky enough to be able to sing with the band, and that gave me something to talk about with other people and helped me build some friendships and get my foot in the door.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_07: So that's been super fun.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_10: That's a great plug for all the freshmen listening.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_10: We would love to have you help us out with every different part of Wesley.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_10: You're not resigned to only going to Freshly.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_10: Um, you can do anything you want to with Wesley.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_05: So yeah, reach out within Wesley and just find your place.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_05: Like that may not be Freshly, which is totally okay.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_05: A little jab in our hearts, but we'll get over it.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_05: But we just want you to find your place.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_05: And like Griffin said, it can be up on stage, it can be helping with AV, it can be a ton of different things within Wesley.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_10: Right off the bat, can one of you explain what Freshly is?
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_05: You got this, Griffin.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_07: All right.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_07: Well, Freshly is our small group that is designed for, as you could probably guess, incoming freshmen.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_07: And we meet once a week generally, we do other events, but the main thing with Freshly is our weekly meeting uh this year, Tuesdays at 6 30 at the Wesley Building.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_07: But our whole thing is about building a community and getting you introduced to what it's like being in college, what it's like being in Wesley, and hopefully growing together and and learning a little bit more about ourselves, about each other and uh about God and all that good stuff.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_10: So, what made each one of you want to be freshly leaders this year?
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_07: For me, it was part I really just wanted to give back because Wesley has been such uh a home to me.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_07: It's been where I felt most comfortable in my college experience so far.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_07: And I also really felt like I had some valuable skills I brought to the table.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_07: I have experience doing leadership uh uh with other students.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_07: I was a drum major in high school, and I felt like uh I've really enjoyed all of the opportunities I've had to lead and guide and work with other students, and so I felt like this was just one of those opportunities that was calling my name.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_04: For me, I'm a sophomore this year, so I was just in Freshley last year, and I think I started calling like halfway through first semester in the fall, and I just really loved it.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_04: I hadn't really found a community yet, and I instantly found that in Freshly, and there were just a lot of like inside jokes and things that we would do every week that just made it feel like home.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_04: So I want to make it feel like home for the new freshman this year.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_05: I really wanted to be a freshly leader because freshly was one of the things that plugged me in the most at Freshly or into Wesley, my freshman year, because we had a super small group that turned out to Freshly every week, but it was still super fun because the six of us that went got so close and just like really bonded within ourselves and within our leaders.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_05: So I'm excited to kind of watch that and just be able to serve freshmen and kind of help them going through freshman year because it is a really fun time, but it's also really stressful, challenging, a whole lot of emotions go into it.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_05: So I just want to kind of help guide whoever through that.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_10: So, what do you guys have planned for freshman this year?
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_05: I know right off the bat we're doing kind of a little of a bit of a welcome series and kind of like what college is like, maybe talk about some time management skills, other useful skills for college.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_05: And then I think we'll just take it week by week and kind of make a little series each time of things we think we wish we'd heard at freshman or things we did here as freshmen that could be really useful.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_10: So just in a really short summary, you know, what kind of person do you think would benefit most from Freshly?
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_10: Or why should a freshman who's you know kind of on the fence think about coming to Freshly?
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_05: I feel like anyone would, I don't think there's like a stereotypical person who would get into Freshly, because I think anyone, like Wesley's saying is all are welcome.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_05: Anyone is welcome and can benefit from a biggest thing is people seeking a community and want to be in fellowship with one another and fellowship with like-minded people, but also different people.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_05: Not all of us are gonna think the same, and I think that has the opportunity for us to have some really good conversations at Freshly.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_04: And I think like with Freshley, it's important to get involved because these people are also like brand new to Wesley, they have never really met anyone before, maybe one or two people.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_04: So just building a community and like starting to put your foot into it is really important.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_07: Yeah, I I really think it would be valuable for any freshman, regardless of how many people you already know, where you're coming from.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_07: You know, lots of people come from in-state, but lots of people come from out of state.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_07: So it can be first and foremost a great tool just to meet people.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_07: But I really think anyone could get so many different things from coming to Freshly.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_07: Um, like like we've gone over time management, um, just community building and anything else we figured out along the way.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_10: So if freshmen want to either come to Freshly or just learn more about what you guys are up to, how can they get connected?
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_05: I would say the Come to Wesley Instagram in the link of it has the link tree, and you can find a bunch of links for Wesley.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_05: And I know one of the buttons is the Freshly Group Meet, and we will send you stuff whenever we have Freshly or just like little hangouts we do will always be sent in that Group Me.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_05: So don't mean join it.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_05: Or if you just like see me, Griffin or Stinky at a Wesley event, be like, hey yo, I want to come to Freshly, and we'll be like, hey yo, and then we'll put you in the Group Meeting.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_04: And then also if you're already in the Group Meet and you want to like reach out to one of us for any reason, our phone numbers are in the description of it.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_04: So if you ever want like one-on-one or anything other than that.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_07: Yeah, we're all happy to help.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_07: Always happy for anybody to reach out, so feel free to do that.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_10: And so I think an important part of this is not just welcoming freshmen to Freshly, but welcoming them to Clemson Wesley in general.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_10: So I guess give me your sales pitch for why you think a freshman could should come to Wesley.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_05: Free dinner.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_04: Enough said, yeah, and it's just a really great community.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_04: Like there's a lot of different personalities, and we all just like love each other, and having that supportive environment is really important, I think, in college, for me at least.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_07: Really nice free t-shirts.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_07: They're really nice, they're super comfy and stylish, but also the dinner.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_04: And the snacks at the Wesley Building.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_04: True, the snacks, they're always there.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_07: But like go ahead.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_07: Seriously, it's the best group of people that I've met in my college experience and probably in my life.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_07: And I I really think that anybody could find a place here and and even find a a second family.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_05: I agree.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_05: It is one of the most welcoming experiences I've ever had, just in especially in college, but in life of being welcomed by a group of people just with open arms and who want to get to know you, want to see you, want to hear you through your highs and your lows, which is really special.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_10: What kind of discussions are you guys planning on having in Freshly this year?
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_04: I think we're just gonna try to do like series week by week, depending on like what we feel like they need the most.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_04: We haven't like had we don't have it all planned out right now, but just like week by week series on what we think they need to hear or what they would like to hear if they're certain topics.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I feel like as we get into it, honestly asking freshmen to be like, what do y'all want to talk about?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_05: What is something you want to learn more about can be really helpful.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_05: And even if me, Julia, and Griffin aren't like experts in it, because obviously we're still in college, we don't know the whole Bible in and out.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_05: We can kind of learn with them and learn together as a group, which could be really special.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_07: Yeah, I was gonna say we're hoping to tailor it to the group that ends up joining us each week and hopefully kind of learning with the freshman as we go and and tailoring it towards what they want to hear, as well as things that maybe have happened to us and um sharing that sort of thing and and our experiences and uh hopefully giving that sort of advice from our perspectives.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_10: So outside of Wesley, um what other groups were you guys able to join as freshmen, or maybe if your freshman year was COVID, then as sophomores, um, and you know, how did you get connected with those groups?
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_05: So for me, I joined nothing my freshman year besides Wesley because it was in the middle of COVID and I just found it really hard to get out there besides going to Wesley stuff because I knew about Wesley coming into college.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_05: But from that point, like last year, my sophomore year, I'm really involved with stuff within my major, which has been fun kind of getting to know people and seeing how broad my major is and also getting to know other people who want to do the same thing as me has been really cool.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_05: So definitely also recommend that getting to know the people in your classes and in your major can be really beneficial.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_07: I'd say uh for me, I also didn't join anything my freshman year.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_07: I barely even joined Wesley.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_07: It took me a while to get going.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_07: Um, but now uh one of my favorite things to do is being a part of the choral arts department, which was spurred on largely by some fellow Wesley people encouraging me to try it.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_07: And it's been super fun.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_07: I've been a part of men's choir and now I'm a part of CU Singers, which is a mixed choir on campus, and that has been super fun uh getting back into the performing arts.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_04: I'm in the pre-physical therapy club on campus because that's what I want to do, and it's nice to like get to talk to people with similar like career goals, and I'm also in a sorority.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_04: Which one's stinky?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_04: Pi fi.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_10: So when you guys were freshmen, what did you find to be the most helpful piece of advice you got?
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_04: Um, this isn't really related to Wesley like at all, but my dad told me to treat school like a workday and like try to work nine to four if you can on schoolwork, and then you can like save your afternoons and evenings and weekends for fun time.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_04: And I used that and I did well with it.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_05: So I think for me, the biggest piece of advice I got was to be present in the moment.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_05: I feel like a lot of college is about talking about your future, what you want to do, where you want to live, what you're gonna go from here.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_05: But this is a very precious time of life that you can't necessarily go back to once it's passed.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_05: So I would say to be present and enjoy all the moments.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_07: Yeah, I would say going off that, the most important thing that I probably heard and uh probably heard over and over and over again, especially from my parents, was to reach out and to meet people and to do things and build relationships.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_07: It was particularly tough during our freshman year in the midst of COVID, but the best memories I have were the memories I made with the people that I met, especially doing things with Wesley.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_10: So you guys might not know this, but I was actually a freshly leader like a million years ago.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_05: Um the dark ages.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_05: But did you have a dinosaur there?
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_10: And um I actually did not like sign up to be a freshly leader.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_10: I was sitting on a beach next to Steve in the Bahamas, and um he was like, so Bailey, uh, what do you think about being a freshly leader?
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_10: And I was really kind of hesitant or anxious about it at first, because I'm like, I'm not good at talking to people.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_10: I'm not good at especially religion, talking to people, like I'm not gonna do a good job.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_10: Um and he said, you just gotta make them feel welcome.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_10: So if you guys remember one thing, uh, being freshly leaders, you just gotta make them feel welcome, make it feel like home.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_04: Solid.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_07: I think we can do that.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_07: I sure hope we can do that.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_04: I'm gonna scam away.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_09: Hey freshmen, my advice to you is to be intentional, both in your time and the people you surround yourself with.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_11: I would recommend getting involved with a bunch of things early and going to some of their introductory meetings and picking things that you think you really want to invest your time in and sticking with those.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: My advice for freshmen coming to Clemson is to find what makes you happy.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: That can be an organization, a group, a project, teams, little activities around campus, just whatever it is, if you have the opportunity to do that, I think you should.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: I found most of my friends through organizations and groups here that I had fun at, and I still hang out with them all today.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I really think that that's a good way to enhance your Clemson experience overall because it's just fun and it's a lot takes away the stress from school.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: Don't be afraid to say yes to new experiences.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: Relationships with friends and classmates are just as important as that big test you're studying for.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_03: I personally believe that a home is not where you physically live, but people you surround yourself with.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_03: And going off of this, I just believe that you need to find your people.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_03: Find people that make you feel love, that make you laugh, that bring you pure joy, and you feel like you can be your true self around.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_03: And if you find your people, you'll feel at home here in Clemson.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_13: You're gonna change in college.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_13: It's kind of just a fact of life, of expanding your worldview, but I also think it's really important to remember who you are and do things that make you feel like you.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_13: If you like reading, don't stop reading.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_13: If you like to paint, don't stop painting.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_13: If you like playing sports and playing games, don't stop doing those things.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_13: Remember that it's okay to be yourself.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_08: Some advice that I would give an incoming freshman would be to get involved.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_08: We don't have much time here.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_08: Four years sounds like a lot, but it's it's a very short time when you look back on it.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_08: So get involved.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_08: Try a new club, try a new campus ministry, play some intramural sports.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_08: Keep your grades up, but you gotta send it sometime.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_08: So get involved and really just enjoy the four years that you have here.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_12: Hey freshmen, never be afraid to use the Wesley building as a resource for yourself.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_12: Come grab a snack, take a quick nap, or even go to the bathroom.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_12: All this stuff is there for a reason.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_12: Use it.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_06: My advice to freshmen would be to find something that they're interested in or passionate about and just get involved, whether that's Wesley or another organization or a club, just get involved with something because most of those places you can meet great people and make great friendships that will last you all throughout college.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_06: So yeah, just get involved, find something you're passionate about, and just do it.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_02: Looking back on my years here, the best advice I can give is to just have fun.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_02: You are in one of the best places on earth and you have earned your place here.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: So go and create some new unique experiences.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_02: Also, don't forget to call your grandma every once in a while.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_02: I hope you all have such an amazing time here.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_10: The Wesley Word is a production of the Clemson Wesley Foundation.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_10: For more information about Clemson Wesley, check out our website or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_10: Until next time, get out there and love your neighbor.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_04: Wesley is Slay.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_04: You heard it her first.