Actual Freshman Advice

Hey, incoming freshmen! Or shall I say "first-years"!

How are you?

You probably have little idea what to expect once you get here. Move-in and getting to know hundreds of new people can be stressful and quite the experience, but I promise, it'll come a lot more naturally than you'd think. Just stick with your gut, be overly friendly and sociable, and don't do anything stupid. 

There are freshman tips floating all around the internet, and I decided to make a list of my own that are Elon specific.

1.) Consolidate all your crap when you're packing. Think- moving boxes, little storage crates, etc. A ton of loose stuff is an absolute pain in the butt when you're moving in. And even worse, there's a whole orientation team to help carry your stuff, and you don't want to be *that* person that has everything loose and makes the O-team's life miserable. Also, label all your boxes. It's way more helpful than you'd think. It took me until October to even have everything all situated in my room, since I had so much random stuff mixed in where it shouldn't have been. I remember packing for fall break and finding my iron in a shoe box. Heh, whoops. If you're organized from the start, it'll make living in a new place much less stressful.

2.) Don't worry about having your room perfect the first couple days. You have plenty time to perfect your space. Although you definitely shouldn't wait until October to get organized, do make time to get out of your room and socialize the first few days. It's insane how close people become the first couple weeks of school and you don't want to miss out on that. If friends on your hall are playing ultimate on the quad or going out to parties the first night, go along; don't just stay in your room and keep unpacking. However, there is something to be said about going out to parties the first night you're on campus...

3.) You probably shouldn't. It's fine to go out if you're with your RA or a sophomore that knows what they're doing and where they're going. But you don't want to get super drunk the first night, or get lost, get taken advantage of, or even black out and wake up in the yard of a frat house and then realize you're missing orientation or freshman convocation. You have all of college to party, so don't go overboard the first night. Orientation is led by your orientation leaders that are college students just like you, so they get it; however, your adviser is present during orientation  for a big chunk of the time.. And you absolutely do not want to make a bad first impression on him/her by skipping sessions or showing up hungover. 

4.) Your lanyard does not go around your neck. Your lanyard does not go around your wrist. It goes in your backpack or your pocket or really anywhere that's not visible. This is the ultimate freshman red flag.

5.) As is walking around campus with a map. Elon is not that big. Once you get here, you'll realize it's a lot bigger than your tour made it seem, but chances are you'll be on the main campus for the most part. Before the first day of class, walk around and just get used to all the sidewalks, which building is where etc. Orient yourself. And if you still feel like you don't know where you're going the first day, set your phone background as a map. If you're looking down at your phone you'll blend in with all the upperclassmen who are just texting as they walk across campus.

6.) Introduce yourself to everyone. It's going to feel weird, because how often in life do you say hi to everyone who crosses your path? Elon is a medium sized school, but can feel small real quickly once people start forming cliques. And it can feel really sucky if you don't fit into any of the cliques. So talk to everyone and embrace your extroverted side to the complete fullest. Once it's second semester, it's a lot harder to just walk up to anyone and become friends with them like you can do the first month.

7.) Quickly get onto the Elon Class of 2019 page or girls Facebook roommate search page or whatever you posted on. AND DELETE EVERYTHING YOU SAID. I promise this is a good idea. Whether you realized it or not, you said some stupid crap on those pages, and don't want it to come back to bite you. 

8.) Don't get binders. Not only do they take up way more space in your bag, where are you going to fit them all in your dorm room? If you realize one class is super difficult and requires immense organization, fine, do get one. But don't come to college with six huge binders. Such a bad idea.

9.) Half the people in the writing center suck. Go there early on in the semester so you can figure out who's helpful and who isn't. Then, when you have a huge assignment at the end of the semester that counts as 40+% of your grade, you have a writing center consultant in mind that will help you ace that paper!

10.) You are awesome the way you are. Anytime you're in a new environment, you're vulnerable and more susceptible to conformity. If it's not you, don't do it. If you're anti-alcohol, don't let other people make you feel like you have to drink. If you're not preppy, don't monogram all your stuff just because everyone else has monograms. Stay true to yourself. I went out and bought a whole new wardrobe once I got to Elon because half the girls were wearing Lily, Jacks, Norts, Jack Rogers, Tory Burch boots, bean boots, j crew vests etc. etc. Ultimately, once I got home for the summer, I re-evaluated my life. Who even was I? That's not my fashion taste, and that's not who I am. I wasn't even that happy with myself because I was trying to blend in with the typical Elon girl. Elon needs more people who are different! Who are unique! Who are proud of who they are and don't try to change into someone they're not! Do yourself a favor, and remind yourself every day that you're amazing as is! It's really hard to do when you're in an environment of perfectly skinny, blonde, tan, model-esque girls, but don't you forget it!