Ok, freshmen. So you’ve moved in, given your parents the abridged version of the ‘letting go’ seminar they should have attended long before they dropped you at the curb and exchanged hopeful but reserved once-overs with your new roommate(s).
You’re trying to recall all those ‘helpful’ hints from orientation as you trek in packs of 10 down to Landsdowne Street and the George Sherman Union, and brave the frustrating, vice-like aisles of the fourth floor at Barnes ‘ Noble, only to realize you’ve left your checkbook and schedule a half-mile away in your dorm room.
Sounds like the beginning to another cheesy advice pamphlet, right? To put right on top of the other 5,000 weighing you down since you got here?
Well, perhaps, but we here at the ol’ Free Press would like to think that we’ve been around long enough and seen enough craziness to know that many of the things contained in those pamphlets are incredibly useful, but an equal number of them are incredibly irritating. But why go in unprepared? Think of this as our two cents, or if nothing else, an extra push to get you started down the right track.
Walk. Everywhere and often.
Boston is a walking city, and not just to the extent that you can travel by foot and actually get somewhere without feeling as though you’ve just run a marathon.
Stroll the grounds of the BU campus (there’s a lot more of it than you think), and find jogger havens, quiet spots to sit on beautiful fall days and the elusive patches of grass. BU is no doubt every inch the sprawling urban campus you’ve read about, but there are great spots, many still undiscovered, that make you feel as though you’re miles away from the screeching T’s and the blinding Commonwealth Avenue traffic.
And do let those casual strolls turn into all out adventures to the areas surrounding campus. If you start at Marsh Chapel, a 10-minute walk in any given direction will take you into the serene, natural solitude of Brookline, a quirky little eatery in Allston-Brighton, the Cambridge side of the Charles River, the mouth of Newbury Street as it disappears into the Massachusetts Turnpike.
Any way you like to explore, walking is the best way to truly feel Boston out. The T is, of course, an inviting alternative and definitely makes things a bit easier, but there’s nothing quite like a two-hour exploration by foot into parts unknown. Especially with new roommates. Especially with no agenda. Especially with ice cream.
Apply yourself to the community at large.
There is no better way to inject yourself into the BU scene than by pursuing an interest and finding creative outlets. An act of community service, a part-time job, an intramural sports club, a world politics seminar, a casual floor meeting: all of these seemingly disparate elements are the glue that holds the student body together. You’ve heard ‘apply yourself’ and ‘find that niche,’ and all those other cliched aphorisms many times throughout your life, but the simple truth is that there’s no better or easier way to do just that than in your first year of college.
Go to sporting events and indulge in live music.
True, Boston does many things great and a great many things, but its undeniably endless offerings of both sports and music are matched by few other cities in the world.
The blinding lights and roaring crowds of Fenway Park and FleetCenter home games are one thing, but then again, why ever leave campus? The thundering chants of legendary Section 8 at Walter Brown Arena make rabid hockey fans of even those who have no idea what a penalty box or a blue line is. When you add in our nationally ranked men’s soccer team (#9) and women’s lacrosse team, not to mention last year’s NCAA tournament appearance by the women’s basketball team, BU sports are on the rise, and you’re catching them right on the up and up.
And if music is your fix, find yourself in the middle of a free concert at the Hatch Shell, spilling out of a sweaty Paradise Rock Club crowd at 2:00 a.m., grooving to international DJs at Avalon or discovering new talent at the tiniest, hole-in-the-wall jazz bar. Boston may just have as many music venues as musicians. No kidding.
Take classes that aren’t necessarily requirements.
Meeting all graduation requirements in your major is one thing, but don’t ever pass over a class that piques your interest simply because it doesn’t feel ‘productive’ or that it would be a ‘waste.’ Take classes for fun, and if they don’t fit in your schedule, find a way to make them (there are many). You’re here to expand your horizons, right? Get to it!
Remember that chance favors the prepared mind.
Of all the classes you’ll take, games and concerts you’ll attend and appointments you’ll make, many, if not most, of the memorable moments in your college career, will be completely spontaneous. But 4:00 a.m. bonding with floormates, random football games in deserted parking lots and spur-of-the-moment trips out of state don’t happen to those who hide in their room, huddled over Instant Messenger. If there’s anything to know, it’s that once your college experience begins, it’s time to simply put yourself out there.
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