4 Takeaways from Orientation
I recently finished college orientation. Currently, I have several friends who have yet to start. To those of you in similar positions, here's my experience of orientation...
1) IT'S HECTIC.
Okay, every college/university has their own way of introducing new students to college life, but my experience of it is that it'll be pretty packed. Don't go in sleep-deprived; and don't stay up ridiculously late checking social media or whatever. Get your sleep while you can, eat properly, make sure you're ready to get through orientation. You may get time to update your Snapchat story about what's happening, or have long phone calls with your family and friends; or you may not. Try to keep in touch with the people you miss most, though - sending a text message every so often to keep your family or closest friends updated can be a reassuring anchor, as long as you don't miss out on important activities while doing so.
2) THERE WILL BE ICEBREAKERS.
So. Many. Icebreakers. Get some fun facts ready, because you're going to have to pull them out. "Two truths, one lie", "Favourite candy", "What's your theme song", "Tell us a fun fact about yourself" - they're going to happen. (Random tip, if absolutely failing at thinking of two truths and a lie, try experimenting with statements about how many languages you speak or how many siblings you have. Those can be hard to guess.)Try to be cheerful. Also, most people get quickly tired of icebreakers, so you can bond over rolling your eyes at it, thus achieving the objective. Ta-da!
3) YOU'LL MEET LOTS OF PEOPLE.
And there's no guarantee about who will end up as close friends, useful-to-know classmates or floormates, or people that you will only vaguely recognize when you pass them somewhere on campus. There will be a lot of names to learn, and you will probably forget something about somebody. Full disclosure: I once spent a full fifteen minutes having an interesting conversation with one person, then met someone literally an hour later and couldn't remember if it was the same person. (I still don't know.)
That's okay. Most people are in the same boat. Eventually you'll start picking up on some names, especially those who are also in your dorm building or in your classes, and these will be familiar faces through the rest of the semester if not the rest of the year or your degree. You can always meet more people, too, but do make an effort to get on good terms with some of the people you meet in orientation- they can introduce you to some clubs or resources you didn't know about, or just be someone to talk to in a class full of strangers. (It's worked so far for me!)
4) LET YOURSELF HAVE FUN.
Ask questions. Participate in activities. Try to get to know a few people. You're starting college, and this is something you've been working towards for a long time. This will be an academically light time before your courses start; enjoy it, and learn about the college what you can. Clubs! Random traditions! The reason people don't step on the seal! Good study spots! How to diss the rival school! It's all there.
It can be a pretty overwhelming but also fun experience.
To those of you who have finished orientation or are going through it, let me know if you agree with the four things I picked!
And to those of you who have yet to start, I hope this helps you. Have a great orientation to college. Good luck!
1) IT'S HECTIC.
Okay, every college/university has their own way of introducing new students to college life, but my experience of it is that it'll be pretty packed. Don't go in sleep-deprived; and don't stay up ridiculously late checking social media or whatever. Get your sleep while you can, eat properly, make sure you're ready to get through orientation. You may get time to update your Snapchat story about what's happening, or have long phone calls with your family and friends; or you may not. Try to keep in touch with the people you miss most, though - sending a text message every so often to keep your family or closest friends updated can be a reassuring anchor, as long as you don't miss out on important activities while doing so.
2) THERE WILL BE ICEBREAKERS.
So. Many. Icebreakers. Get some fun facts ready, because you're going to have to pull them out. "Two truths, one lie", "Favourite candy", "What's your theme song", "Tell us a fun fact about yourself" - they're going to happen. (Random tip, if absolutely failing at thinking of two truths and a lie, try experimenting with statements about how many languages you speak or how many siblings you have. Those can be hard to guess.)Try to be cheerful. Also, most people get quickly tired of icebreakers, so you can bond over rolling your eyes at it, thus achieving the objective. Ta-da!
3) YOU'LL MEET LOTS OF PEOPLE.
And there's no guarantee about who will end up as close friends, useful-to-know classmates or floormates, or people that you will only vaguely recognize when you pass them somewhere on campus. There will be a lot of names to learn, and you will probably forget something about somebody. Full disclosure: I once spent a full fifteen minutes having an interesting conversation with one person, then met someone literally an hour later and couldn't remember if it was the same person. (I still don't know.)
That's okay. Most people are in the same boat. Eventually you'll start picking up on some names, especially those who are also in your dorm building or in your classes, and these will be familiar faces through the rest of the semester if not the rest of the year or your degree. You can always meet more people, too, but do make an effort to get on good terms with some of the people you meet in orientation- they can introduce you to some clubs or resources you didn't know about, or just be someone to talk to in a class full of strangers. (It's worked so far for me!)
4) LET YOURSELF HAVE FUN.
Ask questions. Participate in activities. Try to get to know a few people. You're starting college, and this is something you've been working towards for a long time. This will be an academically light time before your courses start; enjoy it, and learn about the college what you can. Clubs! Random traditions! The reason people don't step on the seal! Good study spots! How to diss the rival school! It's all there.
It can be a pretty overwhelming but also fun experience.
To those of you who have finished orientation or are going through it, let me know if you agree with the four things I picked!
And to those of you who have yet to start, I hope this helps you. Have a great orientation to college. Good luck!
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