With a Senior’s perspective, I decided to write this mini guide about your first weekend at Notre Dame because I think it’s pretty hard sometimes to get some honest advice right off the bat. While this may not be exactly your experiences, I still hope it helps. Warning: embarrassing freshie photos of me included.
Lose Yourself:
-The activities during Frosh O (Freshmen Orientation weekend) many times resemble something a middle school home room teacher would crop up for the first day of class. Go with it. Be silly and participate to the point you just lose yourself in whatever crazy thing they have you doing. Everyone in your class is in the same boat and no one is too cool not to go along. So just do it, relax, and try to have fun.
Be You:
-You know they say everyone changes during college and it’s the time were you really become yourself. Sorta but not really. Who you are doesn’t just magically disappear when you get to college and if anything you can regress. What I mean by this is that almost everyone that goes to Notre Dame is not only smart but was probably the captain of their varsity whatever team. That means there are about 2,000 All Stars coming to campus that think their going to be the ish. Everyone gets a little weird Freshman year because they are trying to figure out how to navigate without that “superstar” label they had in High School. So what does that mean for you? It means that you may not be treated the same way you were in High School, you might just get less attention, and you may find yourself trying to change to fit in to what you think being an ND student means. The best route though is to stay true to yourself and eventually everything will pan out. If you were well respected and loved by many in High School, you will be here too. It just many not seem that way immediately.
Your Roommate:
On my first day of ND my Rectress (dorm mom so to speak) said that your roommate can end up being three things; your maid of honor, an acquaintance, or someone you can absolutely not stand. Most fall into the acquaintance level and that’s totally great. It’s awesome to have a roommate who respects your boundaries, works with your schedule, and is willing to compromise. The problem is many people expect their randomly selected roomie to immediately be a bestie. Don’t set yourself up for this because a lot of the time it’s just not what happens, you’re lucky if they are get-along. Unfortunately it’s not super rare to really dislike your roommate by the end of Freshman year. This occurs to many girls so don’t feel like you’re alone if this happens to you. Most likely you’ll end up just spending more time outside of your room and with your friends elsewhere. It happens, it sucks and I’m just trying to keep it real. Don’t worry too much though because after your first year you’re free to pick whoever you want as a roommate. Freshman year I was put into a quad and could not stand my immediate roommate, we ended up getting in a huge argument and I couldn’t believe I’d have to live in the same room. A week later we made up and have been best friends ever since. I’m not using that word lightly, we are literally attached at the hip. Many times I don’t think I’d be at ND anymore if it wasn’t for her. We vacay together, live together, party together, laugh together, and our names are practically synonymous. If I show up to a party without her everyone asks where she is because it’s so unbelievable to see us apart. She will most definitely be my maid of honor some day. This kind of freshman roommate is almost unheard of and I’m beyond grateful it happened to me. The true moral of my little tale is that even if you and your roommate don’t get along at first doesn’t mean you won’t end up being close later on.
Rectress:
Your Rectress can make or break you. At least that’s what it feels like at times. Some Rectresses are super caring, while others use a more detached approach to their dorm rule. Either way I’m going to give you the best piece of advice in this whole article, get on her good side. If you ever get in trouble your Rectress is the one that goes to bat for you, or doesn’t, during a disciplinary meeting. Also, if you get caught drinking off campus and are arrested (very rare since 2010 so don’t worry too much about this) she is usually the one to bail you out and bring you to a court hearing. On another note, if you get sick she is the one to assist you by helping you get a university excuse as well as food brought to you. So yeah, make friends with her and try to get to know her on a personal level.
Be Open:
You are no longer too cool for anything during Frosh O, especially talking to people you may not think are at your level or something. Throw this high school mentality out the window because it won’t get you anywhere here. You never know what cool story or who you might really clique with if you don’t take the 5 mins to talk to them. If you’re bad at small talk practice before you get here because it’s a must for your first weekend. Also don’t be afraid to ask for numbers or take them down, this goes for both boys and girls. Try and go to as many social events you’re invited to. The more people you meet, the more fun you’ll have throughout the semester.
Domerfest:
Ahh the magic that is Domerfest. This is a dance that happens during orientation weekend where you have to wear your dorm shirt and supposedly find your future husband. You’ll walk into Stepan Center and see a mist. No this is not a fog machine, this is human sweat. They don’t have air conditioning so the night can get pretty gross. That being said if you have curly hair don’t try to straighten it, go for a braid or a style that will create minimal frizz. Trust me on that one. If you’re going to wear makeup I’d go for all out water proof. As for the future husband thing, it’s pretty rare to meet a couple that actually met during Domerfest. Don’t stress about that and make the night more about getting to know a large amount of people instead of finding that one guy.
Boys:
This can be an exceptionally hard category to contemplate if you went to a public school or even a co-ed private one. One of the negative side effects of our single sex dorms is that it can create a boy versus girl atmosphere. What I mean by that is social interactions many times can be strained freshmen year, like you’ll notice boys only eating with boys in the lunch room and visa vera. This will quickly evaporate after first semester but take as many opportunities to make true guy friends, they’re great for pig out nights and advice.
Friend Group:
Do not feel stressed if after the first weekend you haven’t found your friend group. You will eventually, it may just take time to find the people you fit in with best. Usually people will find their friend group amongst the dorm section they are living with. I was one of those unfortunates that got put into a section with mostly exclusionist Seniors, arghhh. Thank God for my amazing roommate as we stuck tight and ended up finding our true friend group the second semester. That first semester though we went to as many social events as we could because, like I said before, you want to try to meet a bunch of people and have legitimate interactions with them. Another tip: do your homework in the afternoon so you can go out and have fun at night.
Athletes:
Some of my closest friends on campus are athletes, they are overall a really cool group of people. Sometimes the freshmen athletes will seem like they already have a bunch of friends and know how to navigate campus on the first day. That’s because many go to the summer session before freshman year starts to train, so they’re not necessarily cooler they just have been on campus longer. Also, some people like to talk freshmen girls into almost being scared of male athletes. This is crazy, they’re people trying to fit in just like you. That being said, don’t be a jersey chaser (a girl who will hookup with someone just because they are an athlete) as that can get really old for everyone quickly.
On that note:
As a Freshman the school is going to seem huge, but by the next year you are going to start realizing quickly how small it is. A lot of girls go to college and want to have their slutty years, this isn’t very feasible to do at Notre Dame and come out with a shiny reputation. As friends groups are easily connected, becoming “that girl” is much easier at our school than one with lets say 50,000 students. For instance, a hook up at Notre Dame usually just means making out, perhaps a lil more. A hook up at a state school almost certainly means sex. Just be smart in your hooking up selection as ND really does have quite the double standard. The nice part about our boys is they’re essentially conditioned to never expect much sexually from girls so you rarely are going to feel very pressured. That’s not to say there isn’t the occasionally creep, but just keep a good group of friends around you when you’re out at night.
Freshman year:
In a sentence, a lot of people struggle first semester with home sickness but by second semester I didn’t know one person who wasn’t absolutely in love with the place.
Today is the first day of the rest of your life. #liveitupfreshies