Hey, Hey, Hey, it's college girl Hannah here to give you a brief outlook on college life as I now know it to be in my infinite wisdom that amounts to a little less than five weeks of higher-education.
First and foremost--the first weekend of college sucks. At least in my case, but I have a feeling I'm not the only one. You don't really have friends yet, and if you have friends from high school there, they're trying to make their own new friends and are too busy for you...sorry. But it's just a matter of anticipation and not really having anything to do. There are small activities planned here and there, but nothing to take up a whole day. And you know, if you're like me, you just want those classes to start up so that you can get in a rhythm, so that you can be busy and have a schedule. Being busy helps a lot to distract from the inevitable sickness for home. Sorry guys, I don't care how tough you are--home sickness is a real thing, and you can't deny it. I can't really give any advice on how to conquer the first weekend better than I did, which I didn't at all. I called home several times a day bawling my eyes out (she says under her breath). The thing to remember that everyone keeps telling me, yet I'm not fully convinced of, is that every freshman in college is in the same boat as you--new environment, new people, outside of their shell. You just gotta go for it. Don't have any regrets.
Secondly, if you actually successfully participated in your high school AP classes, you are most definitely prepared for college level reading 'cause...it ain't a cake walk, let me tell you. I'm talking hours of reading, of memorizing, of online homework that you think is useless but you'll be begging for that online homework when you're in a class that only has one exam/paper grade. That's another thing--do your homework if you're teacher is generous enough to provide you with such an opportunity. Not every class is that lucky.
Thirdly, and I personally find the most difficult--you have to find a balance between getting your homework done and socializing. Being social is a GIGANTIC aspect of college, but so is the actual. School. Work. Do your work! Your parents are not paying thousands of dollars for you to waste! But go out in make friends. I'm lucky in my Living Learning Community (my HAMily) that we're a tight knit group with open door policy. If you're in your room, unless doing personal things (phone calls, showers, etc.), you're door is open so that you can converse, connect, and make friends. If you're dorm isn't like this, I strongly encourage you to make it so. This is an excellent way to make friends and form a line of communication. You might really wanna use that person's George Forman Grill who lives down the hall--but how are you going to use it if you never talk to the owner? Exactly.
Fourthly, (I promise I'm almost done) be PROACTIVE. I wanted to be a part of the music department, but they weren't going to contact me. So I went to them and found out the information I needed, even if it was a little late. Oh well. I'm still taking private lessons and practicing as often as possible. If you see a club you like, go to it. If you don't see a club you want to be a part of it, make it happen. I'm going to try to form a creative writing club here...we'll see how far that goes. But just put yourself out there, don't be afraid to try new things...you never know what you'll find.
Okay almost done. So people say it's cool to leave your laundry alone...yeah, that's a lie. Don't do laundry unless you have the time to do sit there with it. I'm not saying someone will steal it. There's a guy in my HAMily who left his laundry, and some other guy mistakenly thought it was his, so he took it. (Don't worry, the HAMster got his laundry back). But you just never know what people are going to do. I personally am not going to risk hundreds of dollars worth of clothes. And do laundry as often as possible. The rooms are small and musty--you'll start to stink.
So I'm done! I'm going to try to give as current updates on college life as I can. For those of you curious, I'll explain what my HAMily is in my next post. Keep reading and stay lovely!!
Yours,
Hannah
At the beginning of the Holiday season, I decided that I was going to bake up a storm--oreo balls, haystacks, ginger bread cookies, and, most exciting of all, my grandmother's French crackers. French Crackers are very similar to sugar cookies except better. These were my mother's favorite cookies as a child. She would sneak down to the basement to steal a cookie, or two, or three. I do not remember her every baking them for me, but I found them while I was searching for the ginger bread recipe.
