The First Weeks of College

They're dead wrong.

I was sitting in English class the other day and what my professor said struck me as the defining statement for the first week of college: "Enjoy your first day of classes; it'll be the last day you're caught up until finals are completed." The first day of class brought many new changes, as expected; more reading assignments, plans for a few papers due by the end of the month, and, being in the Honors College, more mandatory events to attend and plan around. Not to mention the people! The first few days were spent meeting and greeting, attempting to learn hall-mates' names, and then most of the dorm population, too. My favorite saying during this period was "I've learned 50 names and forgotten 49...and I don't know who that 50th is, either." It's tough, stretching your memory to a new limit; before, in high school, I didn't have to remember everyone at once, I'd see them in class a few times a day and get well acquainted with them by then.

The obvious variable to this notion is I won't have class with everyone in my first semester. Especially those upperclassmen. Which, by the way, is a myth I want to "debunk." They don't hate the freshman. Some may, though I have yet to meet one of them. In fact, a few have been kind enough to let me tag along to go eat, throw a frisbee, or watch a game on the big screen downstairs in the community room. Maybe it's the Honors College atmosphere, but if you can make friends with the upperclassmen, do it. They'll know what to do in most situations, where everything is located, and all the places to go. In other words, upperclassmen are fountains of information for you to use!

Back to the memory problem. Learning almost a hundred new names isn't easy by any stretch of the imagination; learning them all in a week is even tougher. Fortunately, there's a balancing event that applies to this problem; all of "them" are learning your name, too! So, exchanging names five or six times with another person isn't too awkward; in fact, it's almost comical and provides an opening into conversation.

Another item of note is the freshman 15. That's right, those pounds that will be added as a result of all the eating that will be going on. It's a load of bull. Not everybody is going to become overweight, especially not from just eating. Walking to and from classes in different buildings provides exercise that can't be avoided, especially when it comes to three flights of stairs, two hundred students, and you're running late. But it's not just the pulling-a-Reggie-Bush-impression-down-the-hall maneuver that contributes; each person has a different body type, and different metabolism. Some will gain more than fifteen pounds (weighing about 150, my doctor expects a 20-pound gain by next July). Others may even lose weight, thanks to a different, more involving atmosphere that inspires active participation.

In short, many of the common thoughts regarding college are off. Students need to come in with a clean mind and expecting anything; sure, that professor may be anal-rententive, but the others probably aren't. It's always different for each student. One thing will remain the same, however; you won't be alone in your new path.