My freshman year of college was full of firsts. It was the first time I lived away from home for more than a few days and had complete freedom to do what I wanted. It was also the first time I joined an unknown community after attending grade school with the same group of kids since kindergarten. I encountered unlimited opportunities at Boston University with hundreds of clubs and organizations within arm’s reach.
These firsts overwhelmed me and the only solution I saw was to put my name down on every list at BU’s club fair, Splash, and hope that somehow I’d juggle it all. Throughout my first semester, I attended countless club meetings and attempted to join as many campus publications as possible to accompany my journalism major, but followed through with a mere handful of my commitments.
I tried to get involved in club sports to appease my love for being a part of a team and also ventured into religious groups to continue practicing the Jewish traditions I cherished at home. But, nothing felt right. My head was spinning — no matter how hard I tried to join a community, the farther away I felt from one.
I made friends almost instantaneously the first few months of school and I was on cloud nine. Within such a short amount of time, I was equipped with a group of friends, a city waiting to be explored and a campus full of opportunities. It felt too good to be true — and it was.
By the end of my freshman year, I had a fraction of the friends I had in September, an editor position at The Daily Free Press and countless memories — but the rest of what I had jumped to signed up for was a distant thought.
My first year of college wasn’t the only one I reserved for experimenting and exploring different things — I’m an incoming senior and I still can’t confidently say I’ve got this whole college thing figured out. I know that sounds really scary, considering the fact that I’m supposed to plunge into the real world in about a year from now, but it’s the truth.
The four years we treasure as the college experience are some of the most formative and confusing years of growing up, learning about ourselves and reflecting on who we’ve become.
I am not the same person who moved into her Warren Towers dorm room in the Fall of 2016, eager to decorate her newfound box of a home. That person thought everything would come together at once, that she would be involved in everything, find her passion right away and solidify her friendships immediately.
As an incoming senior I’ve accepted that people still change in college and the initial relationships you make aren’t always set in stone, but those that matter will last. You can’t be everywhere at once, and all of the clubs and activities you want to participate in freshman year will most likely dwindle down to a few that are most important to you. In the meantime, welcome to Boston University!
Coffee is my lifeline, every morning, afternoon and night—and occasionally in between. Find me café hopping with my nose buried in a book and a cappuccino by my side for good company. I’ll never pass up a chance to explore this adventure-packed city and its unique, bustling yet mellow culture.
