Few can deny that freshman year comes with its own unique challenges. From coordinating dorm décor to finding a poppin’ party spot, my list of worries was almost as long as DMX’s rap sheet. However, after being on campus for about three weeks and stumbling through life as a Trinity student, I can honestly say I’ve been beaten to exhaustion by the awkward stick. Though I’m pretty sure I’ve earned enough stink-eyes for my entire class by now, I’m sure there are more embarrassing moments out there, waiting to happen to unsuspecting first-years. Hopefully with a little help from HC Trinity, some of those moments can be avoided! Here are a few extra tips older collegiettes™ might have forgotten to mention:
· “M, W, TR, F”— Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, right? Wrong. I was a self-proclaimed scheduling guru this past summer, getting my giggle on about having reserved Tuesdays for “me time.” Don’t be fooled, ladies! When registering for classes, keep in mind that “R” is used for “Thursday” in Trin Town, so a class marked for “TR” would be meeting Tuesday AND Thursday. Words can’t express how bummed I was upon learning this. I hadn’t been that devastated since J-Shore’s Ronnie and Sam broke up…all 984 times…
· “Are you the guy who makes omeletes?…Can you umm, hook me up?…”—my choice of words to fill the silence during an uncomfortable stare-down between myself and a Mather worker at breakfast. Never had it occurred to me that the display of veggies and toppings to my left were for more than leaf-chomping, carb-packing athletes. With ten minutes to spare before a meeting and zero chances of earning “cutsies” in that long, long line, I settled on Kix and French toast sticks. Whether omelets, pancakes, or anything else fresh-off-the-griddle is on the menu, make sure you tap into your inner Chef Boyar-diva and pile your plate with toppings BEFORE you get to the head of the line.
· I’ve made more friends while trying to open my mailbox than anywhere else. I head to my box in hopes of finding a million-dollar check, a love note from J. Biebz, or at least a pizza menu—anything to prove that I have a life, and I always find another confused first-year collegiette™ with a mouth open wide enough to catch flies as she concentrates intensely on her combination. I’ve found that the trick is to apply a little pressure to the lock while you twist and push it slightly to the right after you’ve completed your combination. This little extra “oomph” makes cracking the code a little easier.
· Fully suited and booted in my cute little “first day of class” outfit, I headed to my early-morning class ten minutes prior to make sure I snagged prime seating. It wasn’t until I had been sitting in an empty chem lab in the basement of McCook that I realized that the hard copy of my schedule had sent me to the wrong room. 20 minutes and a tearful call to the Registrar later, I learned that my class had actually been moved to Seabury. Lo and behold, my schedule on the Portal slated the class to meet there all along. If kicking myself in the pants were anatomically possible, believe me, I would have done so. A word to the wise: Cross-check the schedule you receive at Orientation with the online version the morning of classes, just to be sure.
With a little trial-and-error, life as a first-year collegiette™ at Da Trin will get a little easier. At least with me failing epically on your behalf, you’ll be sure to avoid a few freshman flubs. If you want to thank me later, I’ll be hiding out in shame under a table in Mather. What awkward freshmen moments do you wish you could have avoided?