I spent my entire summer on TikTok researching items that would make my terrifying Unit 3 dorm the perfect safe haven. I searched high and low for my Bartholomew Bear Jellycat, spent countless hours in HomeGoods picking out desk organizers and perfume trays, a week selecting my Pottery Barn sheets, and at least a month picking out the perfect shabby chic robe. When I wasn’t thinking of my dorm, I was completing my seemingly endless to-do list of CalCentral tasks, or rotting my brain with both Love Island, the show, and Love Island think pieces (I definitely lost some white matter in the process). When I finally arrived on campus, my three moving carts full of belongings would give any passerby the impression that I was more than prepared for the semester ahead of me. However, I’d forgotten the single most important and essential item for a class of 2029 college freshman: cowgirl boots.Â
It’s not as if I’m attending the University of Texas, Austin or the University of Alabama, like actually, why on Earth would cowgirl boots be the make-or-break necessity for my Bay Area hippie school? I contemplated the purchase many times, but I always put it off, deeming it less important than other, more practical purchases, like my matcha station. But suddenly, my denim mini skirts and sundresses felt incomplete and a fashion crime without these boots. My lack of cowgirl boots marked the beginning of my downfall (all of one week into the semester). I no longer felt as prepared to go through sorority recruitment, tackle frat row, attend game days, rush clubs, or even survive Math 16A.Â
As it turns out, cowgirl boots weren’t the only thing I forgot to pack and prepare for my first semester; I spent so long thinking about what I wanted my space to look like that I forgot to think about the person I wanted to become at the University of California, Berkeley. I didn’t do the preparation necessary to know my priorities in terms of academics and my new college self. I, like many others, have spent my life attached to an identity both self-created and imposed, and without it, I felt all over the place, unsure how to be fully myself. All of this triggered by the absence of both a pair of boots and introspection.
For new students and anyone entering a new environment, it’s important to first evaluate who you want to be on your own, and then what you want to gain from new experiences–though going in blind can also be fun! Especially at Berkeley, one of the worst feelings is unpreparedness, but luckily, it’s never too late. Upon catching myself feeling scared and unprepared academically and socially, I was able to change my perspective and relax. I participated in recruitment, went to game days, and continue to try my best in calculus, despite feeling initially unprepared. For now, the cowgirl boots are pending and my identity at Cal is in good progress!