College. This is what I've been looking forward to since the start of my senior year high school. I've been counting down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until I get to go to school on my terms. Until I get to have the freedoms I've watched my older brothers experience. Until I get to move out of my parents house. And so far, college is everything I expected to be. But, I didn't move out. I decided that instead of paying roughly $10,000 to my school for room and board, I would commute to class.
Now before I made this decision, I made a HUGE pro and con list to help me figure out if it was really the best path for me. Obviously, money was an important factor but it wasn't the only thing I was concerned about. What if my roommate and I didn't get along? Could I keep up with my job if I lived on campus? Would I give my school work the attention it needed? I even considered if renting an apartment would be a viable option. That way I could still have the freedom I was craving but not suffer too much from student loans. These were all constantly running through my mind. However, I also considered the latter. Would I feel involved with my school? How do I make friends if I don't stay in the dorms? Will I miss out on the college experience? I mean, that's why colleges encourage you to live on campus in the first place.It was a difficult decision, but ultimately living at home seemed best for my situation and I couldn't be happier.
Here are my three tips for anyone contemplating living off campus during their freshmen year.
1. Try new things. Don't be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone. College is the time in your life to broaden your horizons and get a taste for everything. Take advantage of the club fair and the variety of classes your school has to offer. Who knows, maybe you'll find a passion you never knew you had.
2. Don't sit by yourself. You'll feel a little silly, but when you walk into your first class don't sit in an empty row of seats. Look for someone who has an empty seat next to them and ask if you can sit there. I've made 90% of my new friends from just sitting next to them and striking up a conversation. Most of the conversations I encountered started the same, "I'm ___, what's your name?" "What's your major?" "Where are you from?" "Where are you staying?". It's an easy way to meet new people. Even if you don't end up being "best friends forever," you still put yourself out there and know someone else on campus.
3. Go to the events. Especially during the first week of school, it's nicknamed "welcome week" for a reason. You are given a whole week full of events from all sorts of clubs and programs that give you a perfect opportunity to get a sneak peak of all that college offers. If you see a flyer for something of mild interest and are free to attend, go for it. Go to at least one game of each sport. Grab a friend and go see that production you heard the theatre majors talking about. And if nothing else comes from the events, most of them offer free food as an incentive. So I mean, you may not have found your niche right away but you met new people and got some pizza out of it.
College is intimidating and it can be difficult to feel included when you don't spend 24/7 of your time on campus. Just get out there and try everything you can. Or as Miss Frizzle says, "Take chances, get messy, make mistakes!"
