Your first year in college can be a bit scary. If you live close to Otterbein, it may not be as drastic of a change. However, there are plenty of people here who have moved from all over the country, so the first thing to remember is that you are not alone! As a graduating senior, I have some advice to share.
Don’t hold on to high school too much. Of course it’s great to stay in touch with high school buddies and remember the fun times you had, but don’t let that stop you from making new friends and new memories in college. Become involved with different groups on campus. Don’t look back on the years and regret not trying something.
Other freshmen are going through the same thing. Try to become friends with your roommate. Chances are that you did not pick each other but that does not mean you cannot be friends. If you find out that your roommate just is not friend material for whatever reason, do not panic. If it is truly a bad living situation, you can always request to live somewhere else with a different roommate or pay extra to live in a single room.
Besides befriending roommates, become friends with the other freshmen in your major. You will see a lot of those people over the next four years. I am a graduating environmental science major. There are four other seniors with the same major who are graduating with me and all of us are very close. In my situation, there are only five of us. This may not be the case for every major, but my classmates and I have become the best of friends over the past four years.
It can be tempting to enjoy the freedom of college but the main reason you are spending so much money to attend Otterbein is to prepare yourself for the real world and to become qualified for a job. Grades are important so don’t skip classes regularly.
Build a relationship with your professors, especially your advisor. It is easier to ask for help when you are comfortable with the professor. They are there to help, they want you to succeed and will help you in any way that they can.
Other graduating seniors gave some advice as well.
Loren Birdsall, senior environmental science major:
“Life goes on, don’t stress over bad grades. Work your hardest and just do the best you can.”
Liza Wilensky, senior equine business art double major:
“Never say no, do everything. Never say no to any opportunity and always accept every invitation.”
Clark Tieman, senior public relations and music double major:
“Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you’re too busy. I don’t think there’s such a thing as too busy. If you love what you’re doing and you think that everything you are doing is worthwhile, then there is a way to do it all, because I have been very busy and I would never say I’m too busy. There’s always time to do something you love.”
Now is the time to express yourself and to experience new things. As the eccentric Ms. Frizzle from the kid’s T.V. show, Magic School Bus, always said, “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!”
For me, that was some of the best advice. The next four years of your college career are the years that could define who you are.
