Beyond excited to finally move into my new home after days upon days of waiting and hours upon hours of talking about how thrilled I was, move-in day finally came for me. Seeing all of my friends already at their schools and loving it made me more eager to get to my school. After being here only a short amount of time, I have already learned that college is mix of emotions, entertainment, freedom, hard work and expressing yourself. It's definitely okay to feel a little homesick every now and then; I mean who doesn't? Focus on loving your school and making the best of it though. There's no exact formula on surviving the college adjustment, but here is what I have discovered after being here at my new home thus far.
1. Start off with a smile and welcoming attitude – There's nothing better than walking around campus seeing everybody so energetic and friendly. Only after a day or two, seeing familiar faces and receiving a simple wave or even a hello definitely made me love Fairfield even more. I had no expectations to instantly become friends with a bunch of people and for everybody to be so nice. It's beyond comforting seeing a positive face everywhere you go.
2. Give your roommate a chance – I am lucky enough to be such good friends with my roommate, although that's not always the case for everyone and that's OK too. It's important to give your roommate a chance even if you don't find yourself being the best of friends, but maybe you will find something you like within them. You really just need someone to get along with when it comes to all the house keeping stuff. Just trying to be a good roommate is all that really matters.
3. Create a routine of getting to classes on time and managing study time for schoolwork – During first week at college for me, I was already super stressed with maintaining my schoolwork, buying textbooks, setting up online accounts and wanting to live up to the professors expectations. I realized that it's all about time management and dedicating yourself to finish your work. Don't sit around and push off your homework, get it done. There's so much extra free time that you end up having, so you can definitely make the time to become a genius in your studies.
4. Go out and make friends – It was weird for me not having my set group of guys and girls that I was so used to having by my side for years. Whether it's getting food with people, casually hanging out, walking around campus or partying, you'll definitely meet a bunch of people. After going out and talking to everyone, I already felt welcomed and excited for the next time that I was going out. Everyone is in the same boat with trying to meet people and making friends, so it's really helpful and important to be open to new people. Enjoy yourself, be yourself and have fun; don't worry about schoolwork for a change.
5. Get involved – Going to my school's activity fair was not only fun, but I got to know a bunch of people and explore much more than I already knew about my university. There were so many clubs that you could sign up for and a lot of things that caught my eye. Already having attended certain informational meetings, I am so excited to get to know and become involved in the different organizations that my school has to offer.
It's only been two weeks here at Fairfield and I can already confidently tell people that I'm doing well adjusting and I know that I'll be happy enough to call this place my home for the next four years.
