Welcome weekend has officially ended, classes are starting this week and people are really getting back into the swing of their schedules. Except for freshmen, they are just now getting used to a lot of different things. They have to adjust to a new home, new friends, a new schedule, a new place, new everything.
So, freshmen, when thinking about this week I want to wish you luck! Good luck on your first day of class. I hope that other upperclassmen help you find your way to class, point you to the best dining hall food, and let you in to all the parties you could possibly imagine.
Your first day of classes may be scary. If you're anything like me you might be going from high school where you had 15-20 students in a classroom to having 200-300 students now. Don't be alarmed, odds are most of them are other freshmen just as scared as you are, or they're un upperclassman who probably doesn't really care about what you're doing or why you're in class.
To be honest you're in the best place to feel welcome. The "Bobcat Family" saying is real. The freshmen that got a little too drunk this weekend were taken care of, the ones looking for a place to go were welcomed onto front porches, and I'm sure you'll find along the way you have a lot of people to count on here at your new home. If you don't go to Ohio University, I'm sure your college is just as welcoming and has a sense of family as well!
Soak it all in! It's syllabus week, meaning yes please read your syllabus because the professors will refer to that more than anything else this year, and odds are if you have a question for them later on in the semester the answer will be "It's in the syllabus." But then again, it's syllabus week...so have fun! This is your time to stay up late with people on your floor getting to know them. Walk around Athens for no reason just to explore your new town, try every restaurant on Court Street because I promise you will never get sick of Bagel Street, and if so I don't trust you. Do everything you can before your course loads get heavy and the homework and studying kicks in!
So, freshmen, welcome to the college world. I hope it's everything you expected and more. Get used to Blackboard, the bookstore running out of the one book you need, and trying not to pant after walking up Jeff or Morton Hill. You will do great this year!
