Nicole, one of your WW reps from when you were in first year was/is very shy! he said doing stuff during Welcome Week took some courage, but is glad he went out to events, and met people.

And I can echo what Nicole is saying about being a FLIRC. I was one too!

And remember...university is a fresh start. Unless your entire high school comes to Mac, no one is going to know you. Know one is going to know what reputation you had in high school, how popular you were etc. A bunch of the really bitchy, cliquey girls from my high school came to Mac...but I didn't have to deal with them because there were so many other people to interact with. And (usually) those kind of people tend to be humbled and grow up a little bit once they get to university, and aren't (usually) so catty and bitchy.

The WWReps are divided among the floors as well though so I never ended up speaking to him either. I think I only had one rep on my floor and when I see her I still say hi! She was so nice!!

Oh! And I highly recommend going out to all of the events that week! Some may force you out of your comfort zone but honestly it's a ton of fun and everyone else seems to be doing it too! If you ever want to go and NONE of your friends are going tell the rep so that way they can help you feel less shy or awkward!

University opens many doors to you in first year all at once... you get freedom away from parents, you meet dozens of new friends, courses get more interesting but a lot harder workload, you're in a new place with new atmosphere that is MUCH bigger than high school and you're trying to learn your way around McMaster's campus remembering where your classes are and what all those abreviations mean (BSB, MUSC, etc), you're excited about being able to eat Pizza Pizza and subs/grilled cheese each day from the places on campus (which you very quickly get sick of by second year), you're introduced to clubs, campus events, concerts, bars, res parties, and a whole bunch of things that are fun while needing to balance academics... etc. etc. etc.

Basically having all those doors open to you at once can be overwhelming to most people. Just take it slow, and have a support network to fall back on when you need help (ie. MacInsiders community, a group of your close friends, etc).

sick of the food by second year? second term!

maybe that was in part because i have dietary restrictions though...

Haha! I was sick of it by first term because I didn't know we could use our meal plan outside of Commons! Oops!

University is a new environment. It takes some people a while longer to adjust to it but it is honestly the greatest place to be once you're adjusted!

posted an article about meal plans. Be sure to read and comment on it about your thoughts on food on campus heh