Well freshmen, we’re a few weeks in and you’re officially a part of the DU community now. You’re all moved into your dorms, immersed in classes and you’ve maybe even gone to a party or two. You’re here. Now you get to hear some sage advice from the students who have gone through your exact same experience—and come out on the other side. So, without further ado, here is a crash course for your freshman year of college.
Walking
It probably seems like the walk from Halls to Olin or Lamont or Mass Comm is excruciatingly long now… actually, yeah it really is that long. That doesn’t get much better. Try to walk with someone else or contact Campus Safety if you ever need an escort.
Dorms
People think that where you live is what matters the most right now. Each dorm has its own positive and negative stigmas; Towers gets its own bathrooms and Halls generally has about 18 things broken in every room from all the partying. Don’t worry about it. You are where you are for a reason. Don’t compare your freshman year to anyone else’s. There’s no right or wrong way to do freshman year.
Registration
Never sign up for classes because of your friends. It probably seems like the people you met this month are your whole world but don’t let them limit you. You will become so much more independent over the course of your college career and taking classes that actually interest you away from your friends is a huge step in getting there.
Be Independent
On that note, enjoy your time alone. If your roommate goes out on Friday night and you want to stay at home and watch Netflix, do it. If a new group of people invites you out and your friends are doing something else, go. Try new things, hang out with new people; be safe, but not too safe.
Food
Appreciate the food in the dining hall. It’s improved with leaps and bounds. Be nice to the omelet man in the dining hall. He controls your breakfast.
Respect
As a general rule, give your highest respect to all of the dining hall and dorm maintenance staff. They work really hard, and we all know we wouldn’t want to feed countless students per day but they do it with a smile on their face.
Napping
Take naps while you can. Freshman year is the easy, happy year when you get to explore and frolic; there are so many opportunities to do as much or as little as you want. Soon you will be getting involved in time-consuming extra-curricular activities, internships and jobs. You’ll be far too busy for naps. So enjoy this time while you can.
Friends
The friends you make this year do actually count. A majority of the seniors here will tell you that some of their best friends are people they met the first month, week or day of freshman year.
You all are at a beautiful juncture in your lives. The world is opening up and you can go a million different directions from here. So stop, take it in, and appreciate the good with the bad. It’ll go by faster than you think.
