“I literally do not know how you have survived your entire life without knowing how to pump your own gas.”
Yes, I will admit I’ve never gotten out of my car to fill up my gas tank. That doesn’t make me any less of a person than a midwestern girl who fills her own tank every couple weeks though! The debate about whether my version of getting gas is better or worse than the version of someone from Wisconsin is definitely not the hardest part about being an out-of-state student at such a big state school. As a New Jersey native, I had a culture shock after moving over 900 miles away from home. Even though some people here have funky accents and I get made fun of for saying “water ice” instead of “Italian ice,” I would not trade my experience at UW-Madison for anything. Being so far from home can sometimes prove to be a challenge, but Madison is undoubtedly the best place to call a second home. Here are a few tips from what I have learned about being the geographical outsider at such a huge school:
- Push yourself outside of your comfort zone.
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You’ve probably heard this a million times, but pushing yourself into uncomfortable situations will only help you in the long run. During my first night in Sellery Hall, I went up to a group of girls and asked to hang out with them, which, at the time, felt so weird and uncomfortable. Now over a year later, a few of those girls are still some of my best friends in Madison. You can join a new club that you find interesting or try out for a club sports team. Additionally, intramural sports are a great way to exercise and try a new activity while meeting new people and expanding your own comfort zone. College comes along with a lot of free time, so filling it up with clubs or activities you enjoy will double as a way to fill this time. Joining clubs, meeting people in your dorm and getting involved in sports are great ways to forget about missing home while also meeting people who will be in your life forever. Everyone is in the same position as you and wants to meet new people, whether they are from Milwaukee or Atlanta or Los Angeles.
- Be open to learning the history of your new home.
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Whether it be how cheese curds are made or when you need to rub Abe’s boot at the top of Bascom Hill, be open to learning about what Madison has to offer. UW-Madison is situated in a location unlike any other school in the country. No other college has students who can say they go to school in the middle of a city (which just so happens to be the capital of the state!) where they also can jump in a lake at the end of a long day. Whether you come from the east or west coast, the north or the south, Madison is sure to teach you something you have never learned or seen before. You can even use this new knowledge to impress your friends from home during Thanksgiving break. Take advantage of being in a new place far from home; this gives you the perfect opportunity to create your own impressions and build your own view of the world.
- Apply what you already know.
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Even if you think this huge school is daunting and intimidating, find comfort in knowing that you’ve likely already experienced a transition at least somewhat similar to this one. Chances are, at least at one point in your life, you had to move to a different school. Although it can’t be mirrored exactly, the college transition is most similar to the middle-to-high school adjustment: more people, harder coursework and new friends. Use methods that you’ve already perfected when it comes to branching out and learning new things. What did you do to meet people during your freshman year of high school? How did you manage to find new ways to study? When you revert back to techniques that you have already tried out, then the “daunting” and “intimidating” ideas tend to slowly fade away.
- Find a way to make this big school into a smaller one.
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Thinking about having around 30,000 undergraduate students at the same school as you can seem intimidating. Thinking about how nearly half of those students are actually from Wisconsin can seem even more intimidating. At times, you may wish you had the comfort of longtime familiar faces to help guide you through your experiences at UW, and you may find yourself jealous when some people seem to have such large groups of friends that they knew from high school. Yes, this is awesome for them, but you’re going to grow through the acts of meeting new people with whom you have never interacted. Having to make new friends and start conversations with people I’ve never seen before has definitely been the most prominent way in which I have matured during my first year at UW-Madison. Even though this school seems so big, you will be surprised about how interconnected everyone is once you start joining different clubs and organizations. It’s so nice to expand your groups and have so many familiar faces when you are walking around campus!
- Live in the present!
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College is the perfect time to explore and to come to be your own person. Attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, one of our nation’s best universities, is such a privilege. Although this school is amazing and deserving of its “Best College Town in America” title, don’t put any pressure on yourself about living college to the fullest. Of course, there will be ups and downs during each year you spend on the UW-Madison campus, which is okay! You may find yourself jealous of friends from home who go to school together, but find comfort in knowing that your group is somewhere here in Madison. The benefit of coming to such a big school is that there are so many cool and interesting people here; you are bound to find your people! Spend time away from your phone, stop checking social media and try your best to branch out and live in the present!
These tips are not the end-all-be-all when it comes to surviving being an out-of-stater at UW-Madison, but they are a good start in reassuring yourself that you are not alone! So many kids come from other states — or even from another country — to attend our prestigious school. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to find your best friends during your first week of freshman year; you will meet so many amazing people throughout your four years here! By not putting too much pressure on yourself, you will actually live your college life to the fullest and have the best time ever. This experience of being from another state while being a student at UW-Madison is one unlike any other; I actually believe we are the luckier ones at this school. The Jersey Shore jokes about “fist-pumping” and “Snooki’s poof” do sometimes get old, but it’s fun to teach other people about where I come from, while also learning about their home. After being here for a year, I can safely say that my opinion of Wisconsin has changed from thinking it is super random and slightly irrelevant to thinking it is welcoming, beautiful and home to the best school in the country!