As the summer quickly approaches an end, I am about to start my senior year at the University of Rochester.
Reflecting back on the past three years, I realize how much I’ve grown and learned during my time at Rochester. Every year was different, and every year I grew more mature, understanding more about who I am and what I want for myself in the future.
However, there are indeed a few things I wish I could tell my three-years-ago-self before I boarded that flight to Rochester. These things would have helped me transition into a completely different life more easily:
1. Don’t stress about making friends in college, especially during freshman year.
When I was a freshman, I was so eager for friendship that I would dive into chatting with every new person I met. I tried to follow the footsteps of the seemingly popular kids on my hall piously to every event. Thinking back now, I still praise myself for being so proactive about getting to know new people and being friendly but I lost myself a bit by trying to be friends with everyone. I overdid my friendliness, agreeing to everything other people said even though sometimes I didn’t totally agree and followed people everywhere instead of going to events that truly interested me.
To be honest, I don’t think I established any meaningful relationships then by trying to make everyone love me, because I never showed anyone the true me. So my best advice is, when you first go to college, immerse yourself among new people and be friendly, but don’t be afraid to show who you are and what you are interested in. Never change yourself to please others! True friends will make you feel comfortable and happy around them and they will come along eventually.
2. Don’t worry about what subject really interests you.
If you come to college and are still not sure what you want to study, don’t worry! Talk to your pre-major academic advisor, your peer advisors, your resident advisor and your freshman fellow to get a grasp of what different majors are like. Try to take as many different classes as you can the first year. I always joked that I changed my major three times; I applied to Rochester as a biology major, changed to biomedical engineering freshman year, and changed again to electrical and computer engineering during my junior year. And I’ve been studying electrical and computer engineering happily ever since.
So take your time and dive into the vast ocean of knowledge here. Take every opportunity you can and use as many campus resources as possible (pre-major advisors, professors’ office hours, the career center, advising center, just to name a few) until you find what you love to study!
3. Don’t join every club you talk to during the activity fair.
Pick a few that truly interest you and be really dedicated to them. I was like a hungry tiger walking into a butcher’s shop at my first activity fair during freshman year orientation. I literally signed up for every club that was in my sight—dancing, professional development, sports, cultural groups, you name it. But in the end, I found that I only have so much time and energy each day, and I couldn’t do everything at the same time. So I took a step back and thought hard about what I really wanted to do as an extracurricular activity. Then, I found this co-ed community service fraternity on campus and it has everything I wanted: leadership, friendship, and service. So I joined Alpha Phi Omega during my sophomore year and I’ve had some of my best college memories there. Also, another tip: don’t join a club just because your new friend is joining, unless you are truly interested as well!
If you are a little bit scared by my tips so far, don’t be! Freshman year is meant to be light-hearted, fun, and help you to discover yourself more in depth. Everyone has a different experience! Even though I had a rough patch during my first year because it was such a big transition from high school, I still had a life-changing experience and it definitely shaped who I am today. Enjoy the rest of your summer and have a fantastic time during your freshman year of college! Learn, love, and have fun!
