This guest post was written by the incredibly talented KyleRutty from FindingWood.com.  Take a look at his website for more stories from college, relationships and more.

Everyone’s heard the stereotypes about frat guys. Frat guys are douche bags. Frat guys roofie girls while burning and pillaging sorority houses. Frat guys binge drink and wind up on some story on Dateline or 60 minutes. But beyond all the fabricated stories and stereotypes, fraternities are in a nutshell, the college experience.

If you strip down a fraternity to its bare essentials, what you have is a group of guys with a common interest who are all in college for primarily four things; meet girls, have fun, get a diploma, and have memories that will last forever. A fraternity is a breeding ground for fun, girls, drinking and memories. “Oh you like sports, you like girls, you like drinking and having fun, wait, let’s hang out and do this every weekend.” That’s what a fraternity is.

Where else can I go to a Tarzan and Jane party, get dressed up like a gorilla, drink eight shots of cheap alcohol, talk to girls dressed up like Flintstone models, and have fifteen hundred pictures where I’m grinning like a kid at Disneyland for the first time. Ok, so maybe we’re all douche bags for having fun, then that’s fine, I’m a douche bag.

As a member of a fraternity I made life long bonds coupled with thousands of memories that I will carry with me forever. The best part of it all was I never forced to jeopardize my morals at any point. If you choose to be a douche bag, it’s on you. But most fraternities are large, and you will realize that you will click with a smaller group within the fraternity that shares an even stronger shared set of interests than the large umbrella of the fraternity in general.

Obviously there are exceptions for everything, and people that are easilty influenced shouldn’t join a fraternity they have nothing in common with. If you’re a surfer or skater that enjoys Reggae Music, then joining the muscle strapped fraternity that loves country music and baseball probably isn’t the best fit for you. But that’s the best thing about it, fraternities are like going to the cereal aisle at Albertsons. The business fraternity is like the Wheaties of fraternities, not the best tasting cereal, but better for you in the long run. The fraternity that drinks and parties like a ‘Lil Wayne tour bus is like the Cookie Crisp of Cereals, great tasting not always the best for educational goals.

All I am saying as that its imperative to form your own opinion. While eight people might tell you that all fraternity guys are douche bags, its quite plasuable that none of them are speaking from experience. And when I say experience, I’m not talking about meeting an idiot at a party that happens to be in a fraternity, but actually trying the experience and seeing what its like for themselves. Before you decide whether or not to rush a fraternity, talk to both sides, make sure you know the benefits and negative side effects of joining a fraternity. I say this because for me, fraternity life was part of my college experience that I will never regret.

Whether or not you were excited about your high school or hometown, you probably know some people who were. Just about every high school has students that display their school pride very outwardly and very often. Well, it’s the same in college—but the intensity is taken up several steps. And so is the popularity. In high school, it’s often a pretty small crew of kids that’s really into supporting the school or the city. In college, that’s not so much the case.

First of all, the number of people that are really stoked on the school is greatly increased. Why? It’s hard to say. Maybe because very few people get to choose which high school they go to, and they feel a stronger sense of ownership of their college. Or because college sports are a much bigger deal than high school sports. Whatever the reason, you’ll find out pretty quickly (especially if you go to big sports games, like football, basketball, or hockey) that school spirit is a pretty serious thing in college. You’ll see people with their faces and bodies painted, wearing all kinds of clothing of your school’s color, and a range of other crazy things. You also might be surprised at just how loud a crowd of students can get (especially if the game is later in the day and people have had a chance to have a few drinks).

Sounds like a pretty good deal, right? And you want to get involved? Fortunately, it’s easy. Showing your school pride is as simple as wearing a school shirt around campus. You can even find free clothes with your school’s logo on it if you look around enough. Many on-campus events include giveaways where you can pick up lanyards, water bottles, t-shirts, bandanas, and other things. If not, go to your book or clothing store and pick up a shirt. Simple.

If you want to take it up a notch, it’s time to get creative. What can you wear that’s your school color? Where I went to school, Mardi Gras-like beads were very popular at my school. Scarves are great, too, unless it’s really hot out. Wearing shoes in your school’s color is another good way to add some color, too.

Once you’ve adorned yourself with as many crazy, school-colored things as possible, there’s only one thing left to do. Get a group of your friends together, get to the game, and get loud!

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, it’s started getting dark a little earlier lately. Depending on where you are in the country, it may be more or less significant, but it’s definitely happening. And once daylight saving time ends (1 November this year, I believe), it’ll be getting dark even earlier. So now that the sun is going down, what are you going to do with your afternoons and evenings? It’s tough to throw a frisbee or play touch football in the dark. Here are some ideas for both indoor and outdoor activities.

The first indoor activity is one of my personal favorites (especially when it starts getting really cold): have a movie night! Get a bunch of friends together, decide on a couple movies, order a pizza or two (or make popcorn, or consume your food of choice), and sit down with a couple drinks to watch a movie. This is a perennial favorite around finals time, as it requires very little mental or physical effort. It’s perfect for just relaxing.

If you’re looking for something more active, you’re not out of luck. Even though it’s harder to do things outside, it’s not impossible. You might just have to get a little creative. If you’re into sports, you can go to a local park and find a lighted basketball or tennis court and play under the lights. If you’ve never done this, I highly recommend it—the lighting definitely gives the whole game a different feel. It’s a lot of fun! Later in the winter, going ice skating under the lights is another cool option (and it also works really well as a date idea, as it isn’t usually very expensive).

Using lighted things, like frisbees, soccer balls, and footballs, is more difficult than playing under the lights, but that can make it even more fun. It’s a bit of a crapshoot trying to get a bunch of people to successfully catch and throw (or kick) a lighted ball or disc when it’s really dark out, but that’s what makes it so much fun! If it’s really dark, not getting hit in the face is a pretty major success.

There are other things that you can do that don’t involve staying home, but also don’t involve being outside. Going out to bars, clubs, and restaurants is just as fun in the dark as it is any other time, and sometimes more so. If you have the spare cash, go watch a Monday night football game at a sports bar, or go dancing on a weekend night. Doing these things often can put a hurt on your wallet, but they’re definitely a lot of fun, and not too financially taxing if you only do them every once in a while.

It can be easy to feel a little trapped when it starts getting dark early, but remember that you’re only as limited as you let yourself be. Start thinking of things that you like to do, and find ways to do them in the dark. Just because the sun is going down earlier doesn’t mean that you have to!

Fall is a great time for students. There are a lot of things going on, both on and off campus, the weather is great, and people are feeling festive. So take advantage of these things and have a great time this fall with some of these activities.

One of my favorite fall activities while I was in college (and a very common one on campuses around the country) is going to college football games. Whether your school is Division I or Division III, it can be a blast watching your team take on its rival. Many students get really hyped up for the games and get dressed all in school colors, paint their faces, and have chants to cheer on their team. Even if you’re not a huge football fan (or a sports fan at all), going to games can be a lot of fun. It’s a great way to get into the school spirit, and, in my opinion, there aren’t many better ways to spend an early Saturday afternoon.

If you’re less into watching sports than playing them, fall is perfect for throwing a baseball, kicking a soccer ball, or tossing a frisbee. Do anything to get outside while it’s nice! Going on walks and looking at the fall colors is tough to beat when the trees start turning. If you’re a runner or a cyclist, this is one of the best times of the year to get out training (especially because you might be doing most of your training inside for the next couple months).

An often-overlooked fall activity is going to an apple orchard. Young kids love to do this, but it’s easy to lose sight of it as you get older. Get a few people together and go pick apples for an hour. Eat a slice of apple pie, drink a glass of cider, and go on a hayride! There are all kinds of things that you can do at an orchard, and they’re all pretty cheap. It’s a good way to spend an afternoon, and orchards are beautiful places to spend time.

It’s a little ways off, but it’s not too early to start thinking about Halloween, the favored fall celebration of many college students. Hold a party at your house or apartment, or go trekking from one costume part to another to see how all of your friends dressed up. There are plenty of haunted houses, theme parks, and city-wide celebrations that you can hit up, as well. Get creative! There are all kinds of things to do on Halloween.

Whatever you decide to do, I highly recommend getting outside. Fall is a beautiful time of year, and it’s best to take advantage of it while you can!

It can be tough meeting new people on your college campus, especially early in your freshman year. Your dorm floor and your classes are great for meeting people, but you can only be exposed to so many others through these methods. And, let’s face it, you’re not exactly going to introduce yourself and start up a conversation with very many people you randomly pass on the quad. (Well, probably not. Some people can just do that.) So where else can you go to expand your social network? College-sponsored social events.

Most campuses, especially early in the year, sponsor events where students can get together, have fun, and meet new friends. Exactly what—and when—those events are varies greatly by campus. Maybe your college will hold a weekly outdoor movie night (like this one), or a monthly free dance lesson. Some schools organize things like lawn game tournaments, where students compete in bocce ball or lawn darts. (Events like these are pretty common at school-sponsored houses.) Another common event that you’ll see on many campuses are sports-watching parties for big sports games, like the World Series, the Stanley Cup, or the NBA finals. Even if you’re not into the sport being televised, these can be a lot of fun, because there’s usually a great deal of rivalry and associated ribbing going on.

Another nice thing about sponsored events (as opposed to ones you or other students put on) is that the college will usually provide free food. No matter what that food is, it’s free food, and you’ll come to appreciate it pretty quickly! Pizza, burritos, salads, and sandwiches are staple school-sponsored-event foods. If you find out that someone’s handing out free food, get there fast, because it won’t last long!

No matter which event you decide to attend, just go out and have fun! Get a couple of friends together and head out. Make it your goal to introduce yourself to at least five people that you’ve never met before, and see what happens. If nothing else, you’ll have met five new people and had the chance to hang out with your friends for a few hours doing something for free (which, you will find, makes every event even better).

Another option is to have your own party. Clean your dorm or apartment, and then just start inviting people over! Tell everyone to bring a friend or two, and see what happens. Put up a sign in your dorm hall that lets people know that you’re having a get-together to watch a football game, or just to hang out. Have a potluck at your apartment, and ask everyone to bring an ethnic food. Whatever you do, just make sure that you invite enough people (and encourage them to bring their friends) that you’ll be sure to cross paths with at least a few people that you don’t know.