When you enter your first year of college its overwhelming, to say the least. Everyone is nervous and just wants to make new friends, especially me, who lives across the country and does not know one single person. One thing, kind of clear right off the bat, is college is very different from high school.
Trust me it's a good thing. Not only is there new people to adapt to, but new weather, culture, mindset, basically everything. However, the east coast has not disappointed me. The first weeks of school, everyone would introduce themselves and say hi, even just for an elevator ride. You would say your name, hometown, and dorm.
After a while, it sorts of felt like a script. Once everyone found their footing, people started to find their friends who might have been in classes with them or more commonly, lived on their floor. The stress of it all didn't really come as much socially, but academically.
I didn't know the campus at all, so finding classrooms was a struggle, especially considering how far away my dorm was from everything. Large lecture halls were somewhat of a shock as well. I went to a really small high school were class sizes usually capped at 15 students or less.
Having so many people in the same room was crazy and made it hard to listen, meet new people and stay focused. Socially, things weren't too difficult because you find out that everyone else is in the same boat just as nervous and also that no one really cares as much as you might think. People seem to let go of many insecurities or worries.
Once you find a couple of people that you vibe with, then some parts of your life fall into place. On the other hand, you are confined to a tiny dorm room, with little to no privacy with a roommate that lives just inches away. If you didn't choose your roommate, this can be a tough transition as well.
You have to learn to cohabitate in a way that's not going to ruin the relationship. I didn't really know what I was doing or if I was in the right place until I joined a sorority. Let me tell you, the getting there was tough. Rush/recruitment was one of the most stressful and horrible few days of college.
Not to mention, it was nearly a blizzard the whole time, so going from house to house, we were just trying not to freeze. However, after all, I got the sorority that I wanted, and I couldn't be happier. Just find out what you love and chase after it. I am already really involved, and the sorority house already feels like a safe space.
Even during rush, I felt so comfortable going to that house. Even after all of the stress and dry period, I seemed to find where I belong. Now with less than a month left of freshman year, I can go home to warmer weather and return to Syracuse in the fall with a more secure stress-free mindset.
