Last night, Chancellor Wrighton addressed the members of the class of 2008 at the Freshman Convocation. Though this will be the last time that this entire group will be together, for the next few weeks these freshmen will all struggle with the many challenges associated with the beginning of their college career: new introductions, new classes, new conversations, new rooms. We asked a few of the freshmen in Student Life’s Freshman Press pre-orientation program to reflect on their new beginning.
Shannon Petry:
One thing I’ve learned this summer is that shopping for my dorm room is about as time-consuming as the actual college application process. I think my friends and I have spent more time comparing towel brands at Linens ‘N Things recently than we ever spent working on our Common App essays last fall! I’ve been so focused on the residential aspect of college that the last time I thought about my class schedule was probably when I counted the number of notebooks (college-ruled, of course) I needed to buy for this semester.
Now, as orientation looms, I’ve had enough of dorm shopping and I’m eager to get settled and start classes. But I’m most looking forward to finding my place at Wash U and beginning the time that a myriad of graduation cards promise will be the best four years of my life.
Allie Wieczorek:
This summer was probably one of the worst of my life. I loved my job, but every minute I wasn’t working I found myself bored to death. My friends were more or less impossible to be around, as they spent much of their time reminiscing about high school and getting nervous about college. I spent a lot of time alone because my other option was to sit around and let my friends take out their nerves and anxieties on me. Everyone was extra edgy and constantly butting heads. Up until I arrived on campus, I saw this as a bad thing.
But then I realized that this miserable summer couldn’t have prepared me better for school. Most people sacrificed their amazing friends and social lives for Wash U just a few days ago, but I took care of that a few months ago. So my apprehensions about school are few and far between. Because the biggest adjustment to make has already been made.
Daniel Milstein:
For the past three years, I’ve been asked one question so often it makes “Hey Ya” seem new: “Where are you going to school next year?” For the first two years, I would always give the same, tired, “Oh, I’m still going to Packer, I’ll be a sophomore/junior,” which would garner the response, “Aren’t you like 20?” But last year, about a month before my 18th birthday, I started varying my answers. To people who live in my apartment building, I’d still say “Packer,” but to people whom I had met through various other endeavors, I would say, “I’m going to Colorado School of Mines!” or to people who only knew me from my politics, “I’ve decided to join the army.” Most people didn’t believe me, but I needed to break the routine.
But after I was accepted at Wash U I finally was able to truthfully answer the question, even though it came with the inevitable “Is that in Seattle or DC?” For me, that’s what college will be. Both an answer to the question, and now, an end to the question. Packing, preparing, that can all come later. But for now, I’ll lay back and see if I can turn on the radio and not hear Outkast.
Jennifer Serot:
A mountain of clutter fills all corners of my room. Where is everything exactly? I am not sure, but it is all there. I think. Everything from my new virus free laptop to my pleasantly smelling soaps, shampoos and conditioners is carefully arranged in a miniature suitcase and piled on my once neat wood floor. How long will it take to schlep all this junk to school? Who knows: Hours, days, months?
I have never looked fondly upon change and this is a change of gargantuan proportion. My new motto is out with the old and in the new. I fear that my suitemates will loathe my habits and I will find a nuisance in theirs. Time will tell. No sense in worrying about the small pieces of the larger puzzle. I will keep reminding myself that everyone is nervous to come to a new place. I hope I am not the only one filled with excitement, even though the excitement is outweighed by apprehension.