Dear College Freshmen,
Welcome to college! As I am sure you have already found out, there are endless possibilities for how you will spend your time at the school you have chosen. Some of you may be student-athletes, future members of the student senate, members of clubs and organizations or maybe you don’t even know what you want to do yet. I’m here to tell you that this is all perfectly okay! It may be intimidating initially, but I am here to share some of my personal experiences and some tips and tricks on how to make your transition into college a little less scary.
A year ago, when I first moved into college, I was faced with a chronic case of homesickness. Some of you may be feeling the same way, calling your parents every day with doubts if you can stay away from home, while others may be overjoyed to finally be out of their hometowns. Whatever the case may be, you will get through it. It may not seem like it at the moment, but trust me as someone who almost threw in the towel, it gets so much better. College is tough but there are so many ways to make it easier. Something that helped me was getting involved. There are so many ways to get involved, whether it’s a club, a team, a study group or simply leaving your dorm door open to allow people passing by to be aware of your presence. It may seem goofy to attend the events put on by your RA, however, you might possibly meet your future maid of honor by going to that ice cream social. I met my best friends one day sitting in the lounge to do homework, and eventually, it became a group routine of doing our work in the lounge every single night. You never know who you can meet unless you go to events and truly give everything a shot. Even this year, I have joined so many new clubs, including the Baking Club (where we made some delicious chocolate chip cookies), CHAARG, and of course Her Campus. Even as a sophomore, I continue to meet people who are slowly becoming my friends.
As embarrassed as I am to admit this, for the first month or two I went back to my hometown basically every weekend. At the time it felt like what I needed, however, I could not be more wrong. How did I expect to make real friends or memories when I was gone during the most exciting part of the week? Making these weekend memories is what brought me so much closer to the people who have become my family. Looking back to just a short year ago, I cannot believe that I was getting out of Durham with every chance I got. After a summer away from my friends and my UNH community, I could not be more thrilled to call this place my home until May.
Other than getting involved on your campus, another thing that I found extremely useful is to take the help being offered. It may seem scary or awkward to go to the office hours or to the writing or math centers but trust me when I say I would not be passing my math class right now if it weren’t for the help of the volunteers at the math center. Not only academic help, but also psychological and counseling services, health and wellness and career and professional success. All of these are programs that are set up to help us students succeed. It is not embarrassing to ask for help, especially when it is being offered to you. Take advantage of the resources your school is providing you!
Overall, your college experience will be what you make of it. If you want to become the president of the student senate, then do it! Want to be on the dance or the fencing teams? Go to auditions! Thrive in your studies and be put on this semester’s Dean’s List? Start a book club? Get in better shape? Meet new people? The possibilities are endless and the only person holding you back is yourself. You got this!
Best of luck,
Jenna Smith