Fall 2017 is going to mark the first time I step foot in Minnesota, and I am beyond excited. At the same time, however, I realize that I have a lot to learn about my new home. As a California resident transferring from a community college, Minneapolis almost seems like a completely different world. With that being said, I have a general idea of what to expect in my new environment, and I thought it would be interesting to see if my expectations match up with reality.

Academics

I mean, what else would I go to university for, right? I'm no stranger to college courses, but I'm pretty sure that university classes will tear me apart if I don't prepare appropriately. After keeping in touch with my friends who had attended universities for the past year, I've learned that skipping classes is a big no-no. I won't promise anything, but at the very least I plan to attend lectures as often as possible. Hopefully, I won't have to dedicate too much time to studying, but I have this lingering feeling that no amount of time will truly be enough. Fortunately, I'm not a STEM major, so my academic journey won't feel like a total tragedy, but I'm sure I still have my work cut out for me.

Weather

Every time I tell someone I'm transferring to the U, I can expect to hear the following sentence verbatim: "Isn't it cold over there?" And it's true: My winter is your summer, and your winter is inconceivable to me. This is probably the most drastic difference between living in California and Minnesota, especially considering the former can barely produce rain, let alone snow. However, I tend to look at the bright side of things; I get to wear more layers of clothes whenever I go out and my laptop won't be in any danger of overheating!

Social Life

Oh boy, if there's one aspect of university life I'm looking forward to, it's the perks of not having to commute half an hour to get to school every day. In theory, less time spent driving means I have more time to meet new people and attend various ̶f̶r̶e̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶s̶e̶m̶i̶n̶a̶r̶s̶ club meetings. Since most students live relatively near each other, making plans just becomes that much easier. As for the people themselves, I don't expect them to be any different from your average Californian; everyone's unique in some way, and I'm sure there's at least a few students out of the 50,000 plus enrolled that will like me.

I'm diving into a state I've never been to before to learn about subjects I never even knew existed with people I've never spoken to. And I'll be sharing all my thoughts throughout this journey alongside my colleagues from Odyssey that I've never met.