Dear present and future underclassman:
When I was a freshman in Plassman Hall, students who lived in my dorm left us a note with some advice. It mentioned great places to have a night out in and recipes for Saga. But my advice is a little different. Although you should work hard in classes and have a fun weekend, you should also take advantage of any opportunities that come your way.
My life became better in junior year because I started to branch out and leave campus when I could. Instead of spending my weekends stuck in my room getting a head start on papers due a month later, I went on road trips with my Siena friends and explored Albany with my friends from home. I joined clubs that were more active like Her Campus and dropped those that I was only in because of my friends. While it’s nice to be in clubs with friends, you don’t have to go if you don’t enjoy it and you make new friends that have your interests.
You need to balance this active life with your schoolwork though. You can’t say yes every time your friends say, “ Let’s go antiquing today!” and skip class. Prioritize what is the most important thing to get done that week. If there is a midterm coming up, go out once on the weekend and then have lunches with friends the rest of the week. Should you have an easy week (which doesn’t exist in my world right now) have fun! Go out and go to Lazer Tag or the Escape Rooms near campus, because they are a great way to relieve stress. Have a self care day of yoga or the gym mixed with face masks and movies. This goes for anyone. If you are stressing out or going out too much you still need to take care of yourself. Life is a fine line of balancing work, social life, and watching out for your health.
I regret not pushing myself before junior year. Though I did experience new things like travelling abroad and doing things like white water rafting, I didn’t take advantage of going off campus during the school year. My life was focused on work and the relationship I was in. College is the time you make connections and long-lasting friendships with people from all over. So reach out, join a club on your own and go travel. See what is around the school and what is far away. Make the most of this time where your life is only school, work, and friends before you add rent and other bills on top of it. Continue to do well in school but start taking care of yourself with new experiences.
Photo Credit: The Odyssey Online