Let's be honest, your first week of college is never exactly what you thought it would be. You enter with all of these expectations and things you're worried about and all of that changes within the first five days. Rutgers is a huge school (my class is about 8,000 kids) so naturally, I was super nervous to start, my graduating senior class in my high school was 80 kids so I honestly had no idea how I was going to adjust. You learn so much in your first week and thankfully I'm a quick learner. The following are just a couple of things I learned in my first week.

1. The buses aren't as confusing as you think they are

Yes, I know they tell you this as soon as you get to orientation, and if you're like me you didn't believe them. But they're actually right, they're really not that hard to get used to or to know where each bus is going. In case you're still super confused I'll break it down for you:

The "A" will take you from the Busch campus to the College Ave. Campus.

The "H" will take you from the College Ave campus to the Busch Campus.

The "Rex B" is the bus that will take you from Cook/Douglass to Busch.

The "Rex L" is the bus that will take you from Cook/Douglas to Livi.

The "F" is the faster bus that will take you from Cook/Douglass to College Ave. (It takes Route 18 rather than George Street)

The "EE" will also take you from Cook/Douglass to College Ave, but it has extra stops on George Street so it takes a bit longer.

The "LX" is the bus from Livingston to College Ave (its always packed so set extra time aside, because it might take you a couple buses before you can actually get on one)

Finally, the "B" will take you from Busch to Livi.

It seems like a lot of information but you get used to it super quick and definitely download the Rutgers app where you can check bus arrival times. (There very rarely on time, but it gives you a pretty good estimate)

2. It's very very warm

When I say warm, I mean boiling hot. Bring a fan. In fact, bring at least three. Almost all of the first-year residence halls do not have air conditioning in the rooms. I can safely say I've never been warmer in my entire life and I bought two fans. The upside of this is that the weather changes super quick and after probably two weeks you won't need your fans again until the spring.

3. Don't go out alone

I'm not saying that you should never leave your dorm alone or always walk with someone from class to class. Yes, it'd be nice to have someone to walk with but, most of the time that's not an option. I've walked from my lecture that ends at 9:00 at night back to my dorm alone which is totally normal and I usually see a ton of people walking too. This lesson applies more to parties and sports games. Find a good group of friends that you know aren't gonna leave you somewhere, because the last thing you want is to have to navigate your way home all by yourself in the middle of the night.

4. The Cook/Douglass campus is extremely underrated

When ranking my campuses during my housing application I put Cook/Doug last as I'm sure a ton of people do. I ended up getting placed on College Ave which was my first choice and I was extremely excited. I lived there for two days and then ended up switching due to a roommate disagreement. I switched to Cook/Doug and I can safely say I prefer it so much more here. College Ave is great for food or going to parties, but you also want to be able to separate yourself from that atmosphere in order to sleep. (College Ave is EXTREMELY loud literally at all hours of the night). Cook/Doug is perfect because it's quiet and scenic but also not super far from everything else that's going on.

5. Do not lose your room key

The worst thing ever is realizing that you've either forgot or lost your room key. You're either gonna be locked out of your room or you're gonna have to pay a fee to replace it, both of these outcomes suck equally. I misplaced my room key within the first thirty minutes of being at Rutgers and it was the most stressful experience of my life. One way to avoid this is by keeping your key tied to a hair-tie and keeping it on your wrist. Not only will you never forget it, you also lessen the risk of losing it while out.

6. Wear comfortable shoes

Before moving in everyone told me that I'd be walking a lot and honestly I didn't think I'd be walking as much as I do. Whether it's from class to class, dorm to class, or frat party to frat party, I can guarantee you're going to walk far more than the average person. The last thing you need is going out with friends and complaining thirty minutes in because you've walked 10 blocks and your feet are killing you.

7. You're gonna get lost and that's totally cool

Let's be real, Rutgers is made up of five campuses with tons of buildings, you are guaranteed to get lost at least once, probably twice. No one really has any idea where everything is. I've had to stop tons of people for directions and they're always happy to help and sometimes they don't even have any idea where the building is. I'd recommend taking the buses and walking to each building your classes are in before class starts so you have a general feel for where everything is.

8. Roommates are hard

Whether you chose your roommate, or went random, adjusting to living with someone is going to be difficult. That's why it's so important to set some ground rules with your roommate prior to the roommate agreement you fill out, just so everyone's on the same page and nobody steps on anybody's toes. It's also important to know you don't have to be best friends with your roommate. Would that be awesome? Yes of course. Is it guaranteed? Nope. I know so many people who are best friends with their roommate and then other people who really only hang out with their roommate when they're both in the room. Being friendly with your roommate is important, but being best friends isn't a necessity.

9. Talk to people

I've met so many people in a week just by striking up some conversation, whether they come up to me or I went up to them. Rutgers is a huge school (my class is 7,500 kids) and even though it is a huge school it is small in the sense that you're gonna see the same people over and over again. Whether it be on the bus, walking to class, or in your dorm. Strike up a conversation and meet new people, you'll be surprised at just how willing everyone is to talk to new people.

10. You don't look awkward

This applies to literally every situation. Everyone is in the same boat as a freshman, everyone is tired and lost all of the time and because of this, there's a general understanding that nobody is going to judge you for anything you do. The positive thing about a big school is that literally nobody is going to remember that thing that you did that you thought was super awkward but really wasn't. For example, I've tripped while getting off the bus so many times and the only people that still bring it up are my best friends who have fallen off the bus themselves. Something's gonna happen and you literally have to say "that was weird" and never think about it again, because I guarantee that nobody is going to come up to you and say "remember that time you fell off the bus in September" and if they do, then that's weird.