As incoming college freshmen, we all know the drill -- since you're going into a totally new situation (a new school, new classes, new teachers, and even new friends), it's natural for this generation to take to the internet for advice. After all, it has the answers to everything, right?
Wrong.
Take it from the girl who uses Pinterest as her own personal bible. I consulted article after article about what to pack, tips and tricks for classes and getting around campus, and even how to get the best student discounts at popular stores. I was fairly positive that I wasn't going to encounter any curve balls with my college experience, because it seemed like the internet made sure I was covered for everything. Of course, everybody writing those articles has their own college experiences, and no one person's advice is the be-all, end-all way to prepare for your own college experience. After having a week to get settled here at Fordham, here's what I've found:
1. Making new friends isn't nearly as easy as everybody tells you it's going to be.
Personally, I'm a very shy person. Making new friends isn't a strong suit of mine -- to be entirely honest, it isn't really a suit of mine at all. Everybody tells you to just smile and offer a compliment, or sit down next to someone in the lounge, or prop your door open, "because everybody is new here, and everybody is looking to make friends." That may be true, but you don't all of a sudden become less shy or more forward just because it's the first week of school. I figured that even though I was on the shy side, I'd be able to forcibly put myself out there in college -- because, well, it's college -- and make new friends right away. I was wrong. Old habits die hard, and you won't be super outgoing from the getgo, and that's okay.
2. Yes, everybody will be a little homesick at times, but some people are definitely better at handling it than others.
Some people I've met have only touched base with their parents once or twice during their first week. Others haven't stopped crying in their beds unless it was to go to class or eat. Everybody handles it differently -- and whether or not you think you'll have your homesickness under control is irrelevant, because I've learned that you really have no choice in that.
3. Those college student stereotypes -- the drinkers, the partiers, the awkward ones, and the flies on the wall? Totally true. (At least, from what I've seen.)
I'm just going to be honest here and say that I'm glad my school doesn't have Greek life, because that would definitely be a nightmare and a half. Frat boys = no thank you.
4. You can expect to miss your family and friends, especially a lot more than you anticipated.
Of course I knew I was going to miss everybody from home -- how could I not? What I didn't expect was the crushing sense of loss whenever I saw a picture of them doing something fun at their school, or with new friends, or back at home. FOMO is a real thing, people, and it hurts like you wouldn't believe.
5. You don't need to get involved in every single school-sponsored social event. Picking and choosing is better than throwing yourself out there.
Your campus is going to be hosting a lot of events in your first week here -- movie nights, ice cream socials, concerts, game nights, meetings, dinners, and more. It's important to realize that you don't have to attend all of these events. It doesn't make you antisocial and a downer to skip out on some. Personally, my roommate and I choose a few events we want to go to on some nights, and we spend other nights watching Netflix in comfy pj's with some snacks. It's all about balance, basically -- go out and have fun and be social, but also make sure you schedule in some time to wind down and relax throughout the week.
(Note: I spent my first Friday night in college binge-watching Friends from Season One, Episode One. I don't regret a thing.)
6. Yes, the work load is hard. No, it isn't impossible.
It's my first weekend here and I've already had to turn down lunch with some friends to tackle my six hours worth of homework. It's a lot -- nothing you ever did in high school will properly prepare you for that. However, the work itself isn't all that difficult, as long as you pay attention to your professors and focus on the task at hand.
7. No matter who you are, you will be tempted to pass up homework for some more exciting activity.
It happens, and it's nothing to be ashamed of. Of course watching your school's football game with your friends after breakfast sounds better than hitting the books. How could it not? Just remember that you need a balance, and if you're going to put off your responsibilities to have fun, you need to make sure you schedule the time to finish it later.
8. After your first week, you will be exhausted -- and you won't have much time to yourself either.
The one word that I can use to describe my college experience thus far is exhausting. I've been at orientation, meetings, classes, nights out with friends, nights at events with people on my floor...I constantly have something to do, and I very rarely have time to just rest with no responsibilities looming over me. (Here's to hoping that'll change once I get more adjusted...let's see.)
So, that's my take on what the first week of college is really like. It isn't so happy and bubbly and simple, the way that everybody makes it seem -- but then again, aren't people always more inclined to just share the positive parts? You will miss people, and you will be tired a lot, and you may not always feel like you belong. But that's just normal, and as time passes, so will those feelings.
But my feelings about frat boys are pretty much unchanging.
