Be careful with your expectations.

Set college on a pedestal and that pedestal will shatter to pieces before your eyes. College can be a sensational experience, but with an expectation of that sensation comes the easy possibility that you will be let down. Fear college as a terror rather than an adventure and a challenge, and you will find your legs turn to lead, your voice to silent, your heart to stone. Why leave your room when “out there” can’t possibly bring you anything but pain, you’ll ask?

You’ll focus on academics, you’ll glance at a few clubs, and you’ll be alone.

Your time in college will be unique to you, an adventure that you can shape how you like the opportunities you take and the friends you make. Don’t look to the experiences of others to dictate how your time will be. Try to make the most out of any situation in which you enter. Don’t stack all of your hopes and dreams onto external and unreliable sources. Have faith in yourself, and chase what you love.

Making friends is just like riding a bike.

Don’t panic! You haven’t forgotten, you have my word! It may have been quite a while since you last found yourself surrounded by strangers with the unwelcome task of finding your new crew, but I can assure you, everyone around you is in the same exact position. If you offer just a little bit of kindness and a little bit of yourself to those around you, people will lunge at the opportunity to get closer to you. Everyone is new and terrified and trying to remember how words work and unsure of who they’re allowed to approach and all that jazz.

Take it upon yourself to find someone new and introduce yourself. If nothing else, hit them with the small talk highlights: “Where are you from?” or “What’s your major?” or “Are you as overwhelmed as I am in this particular moment?” or any number of other lines. People will be so excited just to have someone else who understands their fears and hopes and circumstances. Be that person for someone, and someone else will be that person for you.

Find time for others and balance it with time for yourself.

Don’t only spend time in your room - hunt down things to do and people to see anywhere on campus you can possibly find. See if there are any club fairs, any first-year activities, anything available to you. Make rounds in your dorm and meet people on your hall. You will make a lot of your first acquaintances and friendships by proximity, by reaching out to the people around you and striking up conversations wherever you can. It is important to take moments for yourself to relax alone and breathe, but don’t let that be the majority of the time you spend.

You will find out quickly how much having a support group will help as you face the stressors college life has to offer. Initiate plans with other people. Don’t send vague messages about hanging out or wait for someone else to ask you first. Make definite plans, offer times, give suggestions of locations or activities (I highly recommend meals - share a meal with someone, it’s fantastic). Being purposeful in your actions and in the ways in which you interact with others is the clearest and easiest way to show friends how much you care and strengthen even infant friendships.

Seize the day.

Carpe diem, my friends. Wherever it is you happen to find yourself, whoever it is you happen to connect with, whatever it is you happen to end up doing, there will be a wealth of opportunities laid at your feet and spread out beneath your fingertips. But you will not simply be handed these things. You have to chase them. The effort you are willing to exert will be reflected in the outcomes you find. You won’t always achieve everything for which you’re aiming, but you will meet people who can help you reach your goals next time, gain experience that will teach you lessons you never knew how much you needed, and get to do things you never thought were possible until they happened.

Don’t be afraid. Be excited. My friends, life is waiting.