Being the clumsy freshman that I am, I feared that I would have no friends and have to sit in the bathroom eating my lunch, Mean Girls style. However, Wake Forest happened to admit people just like me, and, thankfully, I’ve found a pretty solid group of friends. It seems that some Higher Being has been looking out for me. I’m lucky enough to have gained a group of friends who I share Pit swipes with and text when I enter the overwhelming ZSR library.
I guess some would say that I am “over the hill” of my first semester with the stress of midterms over and Fall “Break” (let’s be real, it’s a day off) already over. I am somewhat settled into Wake Forest University, but I must say that late at night I think of how much truly I loved high school and my friends there. I contemplate if I have reached that level of “comfy-ness” with this southern school, my new friends, and my freshman crush. I hope I’m not the only one who still thinks “Oh my, where the heck am I? What am I doing?”
*Image from parents.wfu.edu
A Fall Break bust
I thought that Fall Break would consist of an intensely productive, but wildly fun weekend. I thought that everyone would find it unreasonable to leave this “oh-so-great campus” for one extra day. Nope, I was completely under the wrong impression of my “comfy-ness.” EVERYONE was gone. I was incredibly unproductive in doing any of my schoolwork and completely shocked at how many people left campus. On a more positive note: I did finally catch up to the most recent episode of X-factor.
*Image from WeHeartIt.com
I thought we were going to be “BFFs”
I was under the impression that the fellow Deacon who I spent every dwelling hour of Orientation Week with was going to be my “BFF”- I was wrong. The late-night conversations where we screamed, “We are so similar!” have ceased. I have now realized how completely different we were raised and how contrasting our perceptions are on almost everything. I guess this is the drawback to Orientation Week. Everyone is just trying to find a friend fast so they’ll say anything. I still consider her to be a friend, but have realized that, in friendships, it is the littlest of differences that make or break “best friends forever”.
*Image from WashingtonMonthly.com
He likes me, Right?
I guess after leaving high school I thought I understood the male mind and was prepared as a woman for love affairs. The sampling I’ve received at University proves I wasn’t ready for this leap. I presumed things were going great: we sat together in the library, shared funny stories, and he would even get me punch when I asked. I was slow in my actions and he seemed to understand. People asked if we were together and I would respond with the generic and vague response, “We talk sometimes.” I thought I was playing the game pretty well, you know, keep it cool and he would come back for more. It took him participating in a very public hook-up right in the middle of a frat party with another girl for me to realize that I am nowhere near “comfy” with anyone.
I continue to think I am “comfy” until these little surprises come along. I realize that I am in a process of transitioning, so not everything is going to come easily first try. I’ll still be devastated by my first heat-breaking grade and when I discover that the bars of Winston-Salem are not nearly to the caliber of those in Brooklyn. I write to you freshmen because I want you to know that if you feel this way, you’re not alone.
Although it’s pretty sh*tty, it’s normal for freshmen to feel as if they are sitting in the first row of a crazy “up and down” rollercoaster. It may feel like it’s never ending, but all we can do is appreciate the little successes we achieve everyday. If nothing else, take comfort in the fact the class of 2017 is united in this transition. We may have to struggle and wait to see how it all turns out, but at least we’re on the struggle bus together.
‘Till Next Time,
Brooklyn xoxo