When I first came to Mac, I was nervous. Not many students decide to live off campus for their first year, unless they’re living at home. I had missed the deadline to send in my residence application and take advantage of my guaranteed spot, and didn’t want to risk being homeless come September. So I scoured the OCRC listings for rooms, and looked at quite a few terrible places before finding one that seemed livable. In retrospect, that was one of the greatest things that could have happened to me- now I continuously sing the praises of living off campus and getting involved with SOCS to all incoming first years.
After unpacking all my stuff at my student house, I walked over to campus to check out the Welcome Week festivities. Again, more nervousness. I only knew a few people from my high school who had come to Mac, and they were all staying in res. Not to mention how intimidating the Welcome Week reps could be! They were
cheering. And
enthusiastic. My high school wasn’t exactly full of school spirit, so this was all unfamiliar territory for me. But I took small steps; rather than approach a group of those spirited reps I approached a group of fellow first years who were sporting some SOCS swag and looked much more tame.
Now, I’m not exactly the most outgoing person, and introducing yourself to a group of people (who all seem to know each other) is pretty nerve wracking. The conversation went something like this:
Me:
“Hey, so are you guys in SOCS, and planning on doing those Welcome Week events?”
Them: “Yeah”
Me: “Cool, cool... So, could I follow you guys around and be your friend?”
Maybe its more awkward in my memories than it actually was... But it worked, and I still keep in contact with a lot of that group to this day. We did some of the activities, and then went to SOCS Monday night Karaoke, where I met someone who would have a huge impact on the rest of my university life- my SOCS peer mentor. She introduced herself to us, and told us about the peer mentoring program. Basically a group of about ten incoming SOCS first years get paired with an upper year, who sends them emails throughout the week talking about Welcome Week events, and then throughout the year telling them about SOCS events and general advice. They’re also there as support for when you encounter difficulties, and can help introduce you to other reps and first years in SOCS so that it's less intimidating. We had missed the sign up for this, and she offered to add us to her group. And every night for the rest of the week she sent us hilarious and entertaining emails detailing the events of the next day. I exchanged emails with the rest of the folks I had met, and we went our separate ways.
I met up with that group again a few times throughout the rest of the week, saw the concerts, etc. Most of us didn’t really do that many more of the events though- sleeping in was far too tempting. This is something I regretted a lot later on, after I saw the events I missed. And then class started...
The material wasn’t exactly overwhelming, in fact in the beginning most of it was extremely basic. But the transition to such a large class size really made me feel lost during the first couple lectures. Being surrounded by strangers and having little interaction with the prof was definitely a new experience for me- I come from a smaller town, and most of my kindergarten class was also in my graduating class. However, you would be shocked at how quickly you get to know people in such a large class, especially if you sit in the same area every day.
Another big change was having breaks between classes. In retrospect my first year schedule didn’t have too many, but I had never taken a spare so it was still a new experience. I was used to doing 5 hours of school in a row, and then leaving. Where was I supposed to go? What was I supposed to do? I didn’t have a res room to go back to, I didn’t know any spots to do work, and didn’t know anyone else who had the same breaks. Luckily, my peer mentor introduced me to the SOCS lounge, a place where a lot of off campus students spend their time between classes. At first it was pretty intimidating- everyone seemed to know everyone else, and I... didn’t. However this didn’t last long- between my peer mentor introducing me to people and everyone being so friendly, I was soon a regular who knew almost everyone.
Midterms took a while to get used to. The name is really misleading- you would expect to have them in the middle of the term, but they start at the end of September and keep going until a few weeks before exams. And you will have 1-2 every week. Always having a big chunk of your mark hanging over your head can majorly hurt your social life. Eventually I was able to figure out how much time I needed to study to do well though, and was able to plan around that.
One other important thing I learned was that it isn’t too late to make a change, just because you entered in one program doesn’t mean you need to stay there. I did my first (and second) year in science, and while I liked most of my classes, I knew this wasn’t something I wanted to continue with. I started looking into how to change programs near the end of first year, and saw that the best way for me to switch would be through the accelerated nursing program (a program for people who already have at least two years of relevant university experience). I spent my second year in science, but working on the pre-reqs for this program. Soon I’ll be starting the actual nursing classes, and I can’t wait!
I also learned how awesome extra curriculars can be. I was never one for school spirit, or getting involved with clubs back in high school, but SOCS definitely changed that. I went out to most of the events they run throughout the year, and I even became a rep, as well as a peer mentor, and had an absolute blast during my second welcome week. While I thought sleeping in was more important at the time, now I wish I had just spent the week tired!
In the end, the best advice I can give is this: don’t panic. There will be times when you’re intimidated, overwhelmed, and unsure of what you’re doing with your life. They will pass. And most likely return a few more times. But you’ll make friends who will help you get through it, and have experiences that will make it all worth it. There’s a reason people call these the best years of your life, not the easiest!
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Check out
this First Year Experience article from last year and
several others through this article rewind.
We are looking for First Year Experience articles to share with the new first year class! If you would like to tell your story
submit it here! If you have questions, please PM lorend.
