Your first year at Fairfield is going to be nothing like you imagined it. We all knew how fun point days would be, we knew how beautiful campus would look every morning, and we knew about the signature Fairfield events like Clam Jam and the Prez Ball. However, your first year is nothing like you expect it to be, and I think in this case that is a really great thing.
The first night sleeping in your new room with someone you were randomly assigned to live with for the year is weird, but it is not as bad as it seems. You may have done really well in high school and had the highest grades, but that does not mean that college is going to be the same piece of cake. College classes are hard, but you learn how to work hard and fight through them. You may not hit it off with your roommate and be best friends like in TV shows, but that is okay, there are plenty of people out there to meet. Your first year is going to be filled with ups and downs and that is okay too. Friendships will quickly be formed, but in the same sense quickly be broken. You may hit it off with a cute boy you meet at a townhouse to find out a semester later that he just does not have the same intentions as you do. The truth of the matter is that we don’t expect these ups and downs to occur when we go off to college, especially at Fairfield because we are only looking forward to the great things it has to offer and the memories we know we are going to make. The ups and downs of your first year shape who you are as a person and help you learn a lot about yourself.
Get involved; join a team or a club. This is where you will meet great people that have the same interests as you. It may seem tempting from time to time to skip class, especially when the professor never takes attendance, but don’t. You are at Fairfield to first learn, and your education should never be taken for granted or compromised for any reason. Talk to new people and be friendly. Make connections and network with as many people as you can, this will all help you in the long run.
Your first semester is going to go by so quickly—actually the entire first year at Fairfield flies by. You’ll go from move in day, to Halloween weekend, to Christmas break all in the blink of an eye. You’ll come back for your second semester and wonder where the month of March and April went. For that reason you should enjoy every moment and not live in the past or plan too much ahead for the future.
The takeaway I could give you from all this is that Fairfield has tons to offer you, everything from the beach to great academics and connections in the work field. Fairfield is what you make of it and it truly is a great place. However it is important to realize those ups and downs that come with the first year of college are very important to who you are. You’re going to be very thankful for the roller coaster ride at the end of the day. I know that I am. Fairfield has taught me that everything will work itself out, so it’s important to just enjoy the moment. You are never going to experience your freshman year of college again so make the best memories, work hard because academics will always be most important, put yourself out there to meet new people and live in the moment.