New places and new faces mean no one knows you. For all you know, that person right next to you could be the next love of your life or your next enemy. Rather exciting, isn’t it? But also exhausting. High school provided security and definitive sense of belonging. In college, you must start over. New beginnings are exhilarating and exhausting. They suck up every ounce of energy in your body until you dredge into your room and knock out for a much-needed nap.

The greatest thing I’ve learned week zero: make time to know yourself. If you spend every bit of energy on others, you will burn out. One thing you need to know about college is that college can be lonely. Loneliness pushes people to desperately connect with others but rushed and superficial relationships can never last so long. Freshmen thrust themselves into the brave new world of meeting strangers, but who can remember all those new names? Don’t get me wrong, new connections are one of the most amazing aspects of college. Those connections will serve you well, but no lasting relationship is built on superficiality. There is no way you can build a fulfilling relationship without know what you want out of the relationship. Long, quality talks with yourself will gradually clear that up. Trust me, I’ve learned from the hard way of miscommunication.

You should be able to say, “This is me and who I want to be.” It’s okay if you’re still figuring out the fine print (because everyone is). What’s important is to know that external relationships should not fill a gap within yourself. Relationships, romantic or platonic, should be beneficial to both sides. You point out his/her obvious talent in design and he/she points out your obvious talent in coding that both of you guys deny. When you don’t know yourself, how can you expect others to get to know you?