What to Expect the First Week...

We're still enjoying the balmy days of summer and most of my students are still frolicking pool and beach-side (and I'm not jealous...at all). So this seems like the perfect time to talk to my new students about the first week of classes. Every year my students wait in breathless anticipation for the start of a new school year--they wonder what college will be like, if they'll be more popular (or less) than they were in high school, they wonder if college will be a constant stream of parties and illicit substances. They wonder if they'll get the guy, or the girl they always dreamed of...they wonder if they'll gain the dreaded "Freshman 15" (ewww, scary). Funny how my students don't think about their classes or their grades...

But as your advisor, I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't tell you what to expect during your first week of classes (both personally, and academically) so here goes:

DURING YOUR FIRST WEEK YOU WILL:
1). Be mildly to severely creeped out by at least one thing your roommate says. Living with a total stranger is just a weird situation, so be open-minded and remember that your roommate has probably been creeped out by something YOU said too!
2). Get lost 2-3 times and feel like everyone around you knows that you're a freshman and you're lost (oh, and they're all secretly laughing at you). The truth is, THEY were in your shoes last year so go up to them and ask for directions. Or do what I do, find a fellow "firstie" and wander around together. At least that way you can laugh about it.
3). Spend 3 days just "loving" all of the options in the cafeteria and then, on day 4, walk in and honestly believe that there is "nothing" to eat. I know I've mentioned cafeteria food before. Orientation and Admitted Student days are the best days to eat in the cafeteria and the options go downhill from there. But there is always SOMETHING to eat. Remember that salads, sandwiches, and cereal are your best friends...and be creative!
4). Wake up late for at least one class. It's going to happen--what makes you stand out as a student is how you deal with it. Your first goal is to try really freakin' hard to keep it from happening (Shaun's first rule? Your cell phone is NOT an alarm clock!) If you do oversleep, don't make excuses to the professor--apologize and work like hell to be sure it never happens again. Set a second alarm clock, ask a friend who's in class with you to stop by your dorm or call you to be sure you're up.
5). Decide, beyond all reasonable doubt that one of your professors is a d-bag. Ask yourself if you want your life to be completely perfect--if you want a life without any challenges or struggles to overcome (I don't). Think of the d-bag professor as a challenge to survive and know that your class will only last one semester. If your professor totally gives you the heebie-jeebies, get thee to your advisor's office! Some of us (namely me) might be able to adjust your schedule. But I'm not a mind reader...I don't know what's going on unless you talk to me.
6). Have at least one run-in with a crazy person/crack head. I like to make sure my students are aware that VCU is an "urban" university--meaning that we are in downtown Richmond (with all of its accompanying homeless people and drug addicts, and combinations thereof). Don't walk by yourself at night, be polite but firm in brushing off any approaching crack heads. I have found that talking on my cell phone (or pretending to do so) is a great deterrent. Use the VCU-WALK (828-9255) number to get a ride from VCU campus police. Above all else, BE SAFE!!
7). Figure out that the cost of books throughout your four years of college could feed a family of four for a year (or pay off your student loans). I know, I know, textbooks are just ridiculously expensive. You get sticker shock your first semester, but you'll be a little more prepared for each following semester. What you DON'T want to do, is to avoid buying a textbook to save a little money (when you don't buy the book, you can't do the homework. You don't do the homework, you generally fail the class...then you have to take the class all over again! By saving a LITTLE money on the front end, you'll end up paying for the class twice!) Buy ALL of your books! But don't fall into the trap of selling them back at the school bookstore. Yes, you'll get money into your hot little hands, but it's usually not a lot of money--sometimes less than an 1/8 of what you paid. Be patient and sell your books online (where you should really purchase them in the first place).
8). Meet incredible people. Honestly, one of the best things about college is that it gets you out of your old environment and into a new one where there are (usually) incredibly diverse people. You'll be exposed to all kinds of new situations and people that are totally different. The best thing that you can do is to be open to the experiences.
9). Find at least one professor who will change your life. Not all professors are bad and you're probably going to take classes in a lot of different subjects. One of those professors (maybe more if you're lucky) will say something to you in a way you've never heard it said before. They'll be honest and funny and passionate about what they do. Those are the teachers you hold on to--they'll change your life.
10). Feel like you've run a marathon, hiked up Everest, crossed the English Channel, and mushed the Iditarod; and then you'll get up the following Monday and do it all over again. The first week of college is confusing, chaotic, mind-blowing, mind-expanding, exhausting, and exhilarating. You can't know what it's like until you've actually experienced it--and it's scary as hell when it's happening to you because you feel like you'll never master the learning curve. But I'm here to tell you that you do. I survived my first week of college, and my first week of grad school and for the last three years, I have watched my students survive THEIR first week of college.

Take each moment as it comes. And if things really freak you out, come see me.