It’s good, it’s bad, it’s mostly just awkward. That’s how the first week of college goes for many students. In their first days at the University, every freshman has their own way of handling the new environment, but some familiar themes run throughout these first-week narratives.
In order to give a good first impression, freshman undecided major Kristen Clower over-prepared for her first day of classes.
“I got to class forty-five minutes early because I was so scared of being late,” Clower said.
The anxiety of the first day got to Clower and her roommate, Eliza Lundy, in more ways than one. Lundy, who is a freshman public policy leadership and international business double major, said that the two had walked around with a campus map, feeling and likely seeming very much like brand new students.
Many freshmen come to the University from different cities, states and even countries, adding to the struggle of the first few weeks. Lundy, who relocated from Jackson, assumed because she knew a lot of people from the area that attended the university she would be immune to feeling like a newcomer.
“I thought I was going to know so many people and I know no one,” she said.
Meeting new people was hard for William Bartel, a public policy leadership major, as well.
“The first day I got here, it was a ghost town because no one had moved in yet,” Bartel said. “I go up the stairs to my hall and see a guy and try to speak to him. He grabs his ID card and starts furiously trying to get into his room.”
Life in the residence halls is a unique experience that creates a lot of fond memories for students, but often requires an adjustment. Ethan Wright, public policy leadership major, said adapting to a new roommate has been testing.
“He takes super long showers, like 2 hours, and it makes me late,” Wright said.
While their dorm misadventures and campus social lives may create many memories, freshmen encounter new classes and styles of teaching that invoke varying responses. Ryan Taylor, a mechanical engineering major, said he has mixed feelings about his classes.
“I really like psychology because the discussions are in-depth and thought-provoking,” Taylor said.
He spoke less enthusiastically about calculus, however.
“It is adding words, and you aren’t supposed to do that,” Taylor said.
There are 149 days of classes in the academic school year, which means there are 149 days left to fill with unforgettable memories. It’s good. It’s bad. It’s mostly just awkward. That’s how the first year of college goes for many students.
