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Learning to make friends is probably one of the most important things you can do during orientation and the first few days of classes. It gives you people to binge watch Arrested Development with, to eat with you so you don’t look lonely, to help with Calc 3 when you have absolutely no idea how three-dimensional vectors work. Although you may not know if you’ll be friends with the same four people you’ve been hanging out with since move-in day for the next four years, you’ll still be really happy that you met them, and hopefully the memories you make with them now will be laughable stories you tell to your kids when they’re old enough to hear them.
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I don’t think I have the experience to say this yet, but I’m going to anyway because I think it’s vitally important. Procrastination is your mortal enemy – like a little knife wielding devil sitting on your shoulder telling you it’s okay to wait until tomorrow to write your five page rhetorical analysis for Writing 1, just so you can go watch the Balloon Glow in Forest Park with the aforementioned four friends you’ve already made.Well guess what? When you only have three hours until the submission deadline for said five page rhetorical analysis, you will undoubtedly regret not starting your paper sooner. So please, don’t procrastinate – at least not too much.
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Although those 2 AM Bear’s Den runs are great to satisfy your nocturnal hunger for half-and-halfs, BD isn’t the only place on campus to get food. First of all, the Subway in the Mallinckrodt Center takes meal points – big plus. So any time you want a sandwich that’s pretty cheap and not prepackaged, Subway is a great choice. Second, Holmes Lounge located in Ridgely Hall is a great place to get some nice food and sit in some comfy chairs to do homework. It may be a little pricey for the daily carvery, but Holmes Lounge is definitely a place to try if you have an hour or two for lunch and want some fresh-made sandwiches. Most important however, is the fact that the DUC serves mac-and-cheese on Thursdays. Yes, you heard me, homemade mac-and-cheese. That means that once a week, you don’t have to microwave your own little cup of Kraft; Instead you can stand in line at the DUC for 5 minutes because someone else made it for you – oh and also it’s pretty delicious.
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Go to class. Yes, you can just watch recordings of your big lecture classes online, but you probably shouldn’t if you want to do well. I can say from first hand experience that Gen Chem is much more entertaining when you can hear Dr. Daschbach say the words “hashtag blessed” in real time. Not only that, but in some of the smaller first year classes (i.e. the dreaded College Writing 1), your professors can easily see when you’re not there. And maybe you’ll even be interested in some of these classes – but you won’t know if you don’t go, so don’t skip out!
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Invest in large quantities of your favorite snack. I only learned this trick a few days ago when I finally got myself a free 6 month subscription to Amazon Prime, and thus free delivery (!!!). My first order of business as a Prime member was to buy 5 family-sized boxes of some A-quality cereals. So far it has been the best decision I have made in my adult life. Have an exam? Eat some Frosted Mini Wheats! Don’t have time to go to BD for breakfast? Pack some Cheerios in a Ziploc and eat it during class! Sad because you didn’t do so well on your exam? Grab handfuls of Lucky Charms to ease the pain! I guess what I’m saying is, having a lot of your favorite snacks can be both physically and emotionally beneficial in times of crisis, so stock up now before the time comes when you realize you’re in dire need of Frosted Flakes and all you have in your fridge is a half-eaten banana from yesterday.
by Carolyn Fox
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