Photograph by Madelaine Formica, Old main in the spring.
To the new college student,
I’ve been where you are. I know what you’re going through, what you’re feeling. You will get through it, trust me. If I can get through the first weeks, so can you.
Over the first couple of weeks on campus, you may experience a plethora of emotions. Here’s a sneak peek of two.
Excitement. You made it – you’re finally a college student. There won’t be any more aunts and uncles asking where you’re going to school, and you no longer have to stress over applications. You’ve packed your favorite sweatshirt and jeans and you’re ready to hit the road.
Maybe you’ve already met your roommate, or maybe they’re a complete stranger, but the thrill of finally meeting them is like nothing else. If you already know them, you’ve probably spent the last couple of weeks exchanging messages about how you want to arrange your room and what you’re most excited for once classes start up. If they’re someone you don’t know, you’ve most likely been trying to get as much information about them as you possibly can before you meet them face to face. Once move in day arrives, you may think you’re ready, but the thrill of seeing them for the first time (or maybe after a summer of being apart) is a memory you’ll have for a long time.
Once the initial excitement of meeting your roommate wears off, there’s the excitement of finally being in your new room. This room is yours to decorate and furnish the way you’d like. The decorating might take a couple of weeks to get just right, but once you finish, your corner of the room will begin to feel more and more like home.
Apart from the excitement of move in, there’s the excitement concerning classes. Perhaps you took college level classes in high school, but starting your first real college class is exciting. Sure, maybe you’ll have to drag yourself out of bed to get to it, but once you’re sitting in your first class, you can say you made it. You’re officially a college student, and that’s pretty exciting.
Homesickness. Once your parents leave, you’re on your own. Maybe you’re a summer camp pro and have been away from home for weeks at a time, or maybe it’s your first time away, but either way, living on campus is a completely different experience. Everything you need is right on campus, apart from the hug you want from the person who’s back home. The pang hit me at the end of the second week, but it may hit you at any time.
If and when it does, just take a deep breath and tell yourself these three things: I will be okay, I miss home, but I can start to make this my home and home is just a phone call away. If those three things don’t work, or if you don’t know where to start in making your new school feel like home, here are a few suggestions.
1. Put up pictures in your room: cover the off-white color of your walls with your friends and family from back home.
2. Talk to some of the other people on your floor: you might not become best friends, but it’s nice to have some familiar faces on your floor that isn’t just your roommate. Oh, and try to be friends with your roommate, it helps.
3. Strike up a conversation with the people sitting next to you in all your classes: if you’re like me, once you take a seat on the first day of class, that seat is (un)officially yours. If the people around you are the same, you’ll be sitting next to them for the entire semester, so talk to them. Introduce yourself. You’ll be amazed at what having a familiar face in a class can do for a bad day.
4. Call home. If nothing else helps, call home. You might not be able to go home whenever you want, but you can always call.
After the initial excitement and homesickness die down, things start to feel normal. You’ll strike up a routine and become a pro in no time. Just buckle in, study hard and have fun.
Congratulations, you’re officially a college student.