Fresh feelings from College Freshman

Stephanie Schoch

Me? A procrastinator?

Okay, maybe the reoccurring description of yours truly was correct back in high school. But this is college which means a fresh start, a new slate, a brand spankin’ new beginning.

The minute that I walked onto campus, I thought that I would immediately change: that I would pass through an invisible force field and instantly mature. Yet I find myself feeling no different than I did four months ago. I have gone from being at the head of the school to fresh meat. And contrary to my initial belief, there are no freshmen being thrown into trash cans and Kevin Spacey is not my teacher, trying to convince me to go to Vegas to play blackjack: college is different than what I believed.

But what exactly is college? We should be here to get an education, but there are so many other things that we can reap aside from a degree. College is an opportunity to learn about yourself, your future and this school.

I have been here a total of about a week, and I know more now than I did seven days ago. I’ve been to the ever-popular transitions (admittedly only part of them), I’ve ordered my books, I’ve hugged strangers, and I’ve met what seems like a half-billion people. And all the while, I was greeted by warm smiles.
Although I know about 0.01% of the people at this school, I can count on the majority to hold open doors or to smile and say hello. The amount of trust that the students here can attribute back to humanity is astounding.

But the thing that I don’t like about this school would have to be how disconnected I feel to everyone. I by no means am a shy person, but living on the south end of campus, I have few connections.

However, classes; they haven’t even started yet. So really, I’m not being fair. Here, I’m in charge of my education. Classes will be opportunistic: I have a choice to tune in to the lectures, to participate my butt off and to show people that I’m here for a reason.

Hopefully some of you are feeling the same way that I am: anxious for classes to start, wondering what to expect, excited to be independent, and nervous that friends won’t come as easily as they did back home. Just think about the fact that we are all in the same boat.

So this is sort of my “good luck” to everyone. Wow, that sounds terrible, but every year has the potential to either crush you, build you up, or possibly throw you somewhere in the middle. I guess it’s all about how you look at life, school, or new experiences. Or maybe all three, wrapped into a burrito of college life.

Good luck, everyone. On Wednesdays we wear pink.

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