To say that I was nervous coming into college is an understatement. I spent hours planning my room, figuring out how I would work in my classes and social media stalking people who I knew were also coming to ND. I listened to hours of advice from Youtube videos and people I knew telling me how many clothes to bring and how thick of a mattress topper to buy. While all of this advice was helpful (even though I still brought too many clothes and my mattress topper was too thick so I nearly died falling off my lofted bed every night), I really wish someone would have prepared me for the insane range of boys I would meet when I got to campus in the fall. Don’t get me wrong, I was excited to meet boys. My high school relationship had ended in February, and I was ready to mingle, but WOW — nothing could have prepared me for the absolute cyclone, that is college boys. Here are the ten boys I met my first semester of college:
- The Snapcode as the Background Boy
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Oh Domerfest, what a tradition. Watching the whole freshman class come together for the first time, albeit sweaty and hot, may be a favorite moment of Welcome Weekend for me. Between the food and the music, you really could have a great time; but the real fun comes in the people-watching. I personally had two favorite groups to watch (although they often overlap): those who pregamed it and just went off a little too hard for a university-sponsored event and the boys who clearly thought that domerfest was the ultimate opportunity to get as many girls’ snapchats as possible. I will never forget boys literally approaching me and shoving their phone in my face to scan the snapcode they had set as their background. Did they really think I wanted to snapchat their face daily when I didn’t even know their name? They could have at least said hello. Would that have been so hard? I guess I’ll never know. I’m still confused on this one and I’ll probably never know who half of the people I have on snapchat are.
- The One Who Gets Too Drunk
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Now I get it. A lot of people didn’t drink in high school, which is perfectly respectable, but I can’t help but feel bad for these poor boys. They drink so much within the first weekend and they absolutely lose control. I mean I guess it’s an important lesson to learn, but who wants to be known as the boy who break-danced at his first party until he threw up on the girl he was talking to’s shoes. No one. Take it easy boys.
- The Guy You Meet Over the Summer and Never Talk To
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Now this might seem odd and I honestly wonder what on earth I was thinking. Why did I think that a boy I met through a snapchat group chat had the potential to become my boyfriend? I don’t even know if that was what I was expecting. I have no idea. Anyway, I snapchatted a boy the whole entire summer (a 100 day streak wow! Soulmate? I thought so) and I genuinely thought this meant we would have a connection in real life, so you can imagine my shock when I ran into him for the first time in person…and it was horribly awkward. I do NOT recommend.
- The Athlete (sort of)
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I mean did I really meet him or did I just awkwardly stare at him when I recognized him in the student center or at the bus stop? That’s a secret I’ll never tell.
- The Guy Who Invites You Over and Ignores You Totally
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Now this one may be just me, but it was too funny of an experience to leave out. So my friends and I met this guy during welcome weekend. He seemed a little odd, but I mean who were we to judge. He invited us over to his dorm to hang out. Our first-week-of-school-selves were so excited! We went and talked to an upperclassman in our dorm, asking for her advice on the situation (yes, I know this is cringy). Finally we worked up the courage to cross the quad to his dorm, he let us in and ….radio silence. This boy did not even speak to us. We awkwardly sat in the basement of his dorm, wondering if we had done something wrong. Finally, after about an hour of this uncalled for, awkward encounter, we decided to get out, but wow, thanks dude.
- The One You Talk to in Class but Never Outside
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Now this one was promising at first, but once again, I was wrong. I, the nervous freshman girl, walk into my first class of Gen Chem. I sit, alone, which is nightmare fuel if you ask me. Finally, a boy sits down next to me and I look up and wow he is cute (pull it together Sara). We talk and it’s starting to feel like a romcom moment. Things are going great. He sits next to me everyday. I waited, thinking he would make a move, try to get my contact info or something, but no, never. He did not have to like me so this is totally acceptable but definitely a disappointment. Thank you, next.
- The Creep
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I truly wish I didn’t have to write about this, but this is definitely the broadest group. There are so many incredible boys at Notre Dame, but unfortunately they have their creepy counterparts. This ranges from the boy who gets a little too close at the party to the boy who thinks that you speaking ten words to him gives him a right to know everything about your life. I have friends who’ve had boys show up at their dorms to hang out when they weren’t even friends…weird…creepy. Boys need to learn that a girl simply being polite to them does not mean they are vibing or that they want to pursue something further—it might just mean she’s being polite. Boys, if a girl acts like she doesn’t want anything more, she doesn’t…take a hint.
- The One Who Proposed to You at Domerfest … Oh Wait Is This Just Me?
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I wish this was a joke. It’s not. Sometimes I still run into the kid. We awkwardly nod at each other. I said no, don’t worry.
- Your Best Friends
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Now it may seem like I’m hating on boys quite a lot in this article, but they certainly aren’t all bad. Some might actually change your life for the better (as opposed to the creeps and weirdos listed above). During Welcome Weekend, I met my fair share of boys that I wish I hadn’t (like really a lot), but I also met some pretty amazing ones. I may have had a crush or two in there while the friend group was developing, but eventually I realized that these boys were truly some of my best friends—even though there was nothing there in a romantic sense. They make me laugh, but they also make me want to be a better version of myself. I don’t know what I would do without them constantly making fun of me (this is very easy), correcting my grammar and reminding me that I deserve to be at a school like Notre Dame when I feel hopeless. They are my people and now they’re stuck with me (pray for them).
- The Good One (if you’re lucky but if not that’s ok)
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Now this one may also be very uncommon, but sometimes you will find a boy who is actually willing to be a nice person and have a girlfriend (a rare combo). My advice: if you like this boy, you have to snatch him up, which is what I did. Yes, people give me trouble for dating someone first semester of college, but luckily for me, I don’t care. I’m happy and he’s happy, what could be more important (truthfully nothing because who cares what other people think)?
So, basically, the first semester of college was crazy. I discovered breeds of men that I never thought existed and had experiences I wish I could redo to reduce the cringe factor. But in the end, I met some pretty incredible people and despite all of the awkward encounters, I wouldn’t change a thing.
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