Ahh, I remember having those pre-college jitters. The whole summer, questions such as: “What if my roommate doesn’t like me?” “What if I have trouble making friends?” or “What if I get wildly homesick?” lurked in the back of my head.
I was going to college. That institution always portrayed in movies as the party-until-you puke and study-until-your-brain-cells-erupt scene. I was leaving my friends, family, my local bakery (where else would I find such heavenly crumb buns?) I was leaving everything I had ever known, and arriving into a new land where I had to wear flip flops in the shower and didn’t have to ask permission to tinkle during class.
Thank goodness TCNJ had Welcome Week to ease my metamorphosis from triumphant high school senior to timid college freshman aimlessly wandering around campus because she forgot where her dormitory was located. Oops.
Well, future college students, here are some tips and tricks to surviving your first week on campus!
1. Do attend all Welcome Week events. Alright, so there are going to be mornings where your ambassador’s rambunctious knocks will be your early-morning alarm clock, shaking you out of your slumber- and, well, it’s going to suck. You’re going to be overly tired during Welcome Week from attending all the planned events and following a specific agenda. Temptations to skip out on events and perhaps take a nap may intrigue you. DON’T. This is the prime time of the year to adapt to the TCNJ community, make friends (or decide who you don’t like), and become comfortable here. Don’t miss out! Attending all the Welcome Week events can make you feel closer to your floormates, and is the easiest way to bond with new people.
2. Do prepare some ‘fun facts’ about yourself. Your ambassadors will call them ‘icebreakers,’ but everyone else will call them the ‘can-we-not’ games. During Welcome Week, you’ll be placed into a lot of scenarios where you’ll be asked to provide an ‘interesting’ or ‘fun’ fact about yourself. I apparently am not interesting or fun (especially when put on the spot), so if you’re like me, premeditate your facts.
3. Floor dinners. You’ll see that there are gigantic-surfboard tables located in the dining hall- specifically for floor dinners, DUH. Try to gather around some hungry floormates for a group supper. In between bites, of the soon-to-be-sick-of dining hall bites, you can learn more about your fellow floor dwellers.
4. Avoid “floorcest.” Don’t hook up with the cute boy across the hall the first week. You’ll have plenty of time in college to make dumb decisions. You’ll be seeing your floormates constantly and to avoid any awkwardness (if he for some reason is not your Prince Charming and things don’t work out) — don’t let anything unseemly occur.
5. Enjoy every moment of it. This is the only week during your entire college career where you won’t be bombarded with heaps of homework. Stress won’t exist during Welcome Week, only happiness and new friendships should encompass your first week at the College.
Check it out for yourself- watch the TCNJ Welcome Week 2015 video, and get excited!