Everyone comes to college expecting it to instantly be a breeze. We expect wild parties, tons of new friends and the chance to completely reinvent ourselves right away. For some people, this does happen, but for the majority of us, these ideas of college are soon replaced by the hard reality of what college really is.
Without a doubt, I can honestly say that my first week of college was one of the worst weeks of my entire life. I felt more anxious than I had in my entire life, I felt like I wasn’t meeting anyone new, and the aspect of staying an entire year at the University of Cincinnati seemed impossible.
Things as simple as going to the dining halls seemed like an unconquerable challenge. My roommate seemed to be doing fine, she had met a group of girls and even attended a couple of parties. I desperately wished I could adapt as well as she did.
I remember my fourth night here when I called a friend back home and just sobbed for the entire time I talked to her. I wasn’t happy here, I desperately wanted to go back home and everything felt too different too fast. I felt as if I had made a wrong choice in coming to the University of Cincinnati.
The morning after that night I knew I needed to take a step back and assess my situation and why I was feeling the way I did. After a quick Google search, I found a term called culture shock. Culture shock is described as an uncomfortableness felt when one is immersed in a new environment for the first time. Symptoms of culture shock can include but are not limited to isolation, increased anxiety and paranoia.
Most of us never think of going to college as joining a new culture, we don’t stop and consider how drastic the changes really are. Things like having a roommate for the first time, using communal bathrooms and eating our food in a dining hall. The scariest one for me was the new insane amount of downtime I had. In high school I had kept myself busy, often staying at school until nine or later. In college, I no longer had the structured activities to keep me busy. Since I had nothing to fill this time yet, I would just go to my dorm and wallow in my own self-pity.
The biggest challenge with college is that once you are thrown into the mix, you have to go with it or you’ll inevitably drown. You can’t just turn back immediately, and decide you can’t do it. You have to figure out how things work in your new environment. The best way to get over the initial shock is to put yourself out there as much as possible.
For me, forcing myself to go out there and experience all the things Welcome Week had to offer was especially hard. I had come from Illinois and was the only person from my school district to attend the University of Cincinnati, and as mentioned before my roommate had already found her group. I was all alone in figuring out how things worked.
Slowly but surely I began to throw myself out into the world of college. I figured out how the dining halls worked and successfully ate three meals in one day. I visited the library and learned how wonderful it is when you need to escape for a while. I also attended the community service fair and registered with several organizations I had participated with at home, and most importantly for me, I attended the student activities fair.
The student activities fair gave me the most comfort in my first week at Cincinnati. It opened me up to so many groups looking for new members, groups including Her Campus. At the activities fair, I made myself sign up for at least five clubs, I told myself I didn’t have to go to the meeting, but I should at least get information on what’s available to me.
After the activities fair, I remember feeling overwhelmingly relieved; I had found groups of like-minded people that I could spend time with. I felt more at ease about what my future at Cincinnati would bring, and for the first time since I had arrived, I felt excited!
Since then I have joined several organizations, and have started to develop really meaningful friendships. Even though college may be like an impossible social challenge right now, I promise you, it can get better. You have to be willing to put yourself out there though, and take the risk to make the change you want to see in your life.
Coming to a new city, with new people, and new social rules is always going to be scary. It is always going to take time to adjust and become assimilated in your new environment. There is no avoiding the college culture shock, we all experience some form of it. The best thing you can do is try to take it in strides, accept that this is your brand new life and make the best of it!
If you feel that your problems may run deeper than just culture shock, do not hesitate to reach out to someone: your family, your roommate, your RA, or student counseling services. Don’t let yourself suffer in silence.
I now regret those first few days I spent pent up in my dorm, I wonder how many experiences I may have missed out on by isolating myself, but I can’t keep looking at the past. All I can do now is keep searching for more opportunities in the future.
Here is a list of resources you can use to find events and clubs happening right now on campus:
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The app Corq lists daily events going on at University of Cincinnati, including when certain clubs meet.
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The University of Cincinnati has a registered student organizations list on their website.
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Tangeman University Center has a list of daily events that you can always check.
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Look for various posters and flyers around campus, they’ll often be promoting first meetings and events.