My fellow members of the Vanderbilt Class of 2028, we have officially made it through our first couple weeks of college. I know for me and probably many of you, college so far has been a rollercoaster of emotions: exciting, overwhelming, busy, stressful, fun, and pretty much every other feeling you can imagine.
Starting freshman year is a massive life transition, and the biggest one I’ve ever experienced. It takes time to adjust to a new environment, new people, and a whole new life. As we all go through this time of change in our lives, I wanted to share with you three tips/things to keep in mind that may help you and have certainly been helping me.
#1 – Remember the Importance of Change!
Change is hard for anyone, and starting at Vanderbilt is a big change. Many of us have moved far away from our family, friends, and home and all of us are in a totally new environment. Our life as we knew it has completely changed, and this can be extremely overwhelming.
You may be feeling homesick, missing your high school friends, or even just feeling nostalgic for your childhood. Moving to a new place, making new friends, and being at a school as ambitious as Vanderbilt is a lot of work and extremely overwhelming. But the truth is, leaving behind the familiar and experiencing a time of change is necessary in becoming the people we are meant to be and living the lives we are meant to live.
Here are a couple of quotes I love that highlight the necessity of change:
“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”
- C.S. Lewis
“In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step back into safety.”
- Abraham Maslow
#2 – Stay Grounded in Yourself and What You Love!
In the chaos of our first weeks at Vanderbilt, it’s easy to feel like you’re an entirely new person living a whole new life (because you basically are!). But, something that’s been really helping me is staying grounded in who I am and doing the things that make me feel like myself.
This may include doing your favorite hobbies, calling your family, or just taking some extra alone time. All of these things can help make you feel at home in a new environment and grounded in yourself. You may even find ways to do these activities with other people here and in student clubs!
For me, I’ve been trying to carve out time in my day to play guitar, which is something I did everyday back home. I’ve also really enjoyed walking around campus listening to my favorite songs – it’s a great way to destress and have some peaceful alone time.
Whether you love to draw, workout, read, or FaceTime your siblings, make sure you give yourself time for those activities in the midst of our crazy schedules! I promise it will help with adjusting to life at Vanderbilt.
#3 – It Takes Time!
I’m sure you’ve heard this a million times, but it’s important to remember that it takes time to feel at home in a new environment, build strong relationships, adjust to college academics and extracurriculars, and get into a new routine.
It may seem like everyone else is totally thriving here and having the best time ever, but don’t feel behind if you’re still adjusting. Things aren’t going to feel perfect all the time, and that’s ok! I’ve been constantly reminding myself to take things day by day and remember that we are all experiencing college for the first time and it’s ok to not have everything figured out yet.
I hope you can keep these things in mind as you continue to adjust to life at Vanderbilt and move through this time of transition. Making it through the first weeks is something to be proud of and I hope we can all have an incredible rest of the year!