Earlier this week, I had the strange experience of sending my cousin Brian off to his freshman year at the University of Illinois. It was bizarre because I’m technically a senior at the University, but spending the fall abroad. As a result, I will miss many of his firsts on campus. It may not sound like a big deal, but Brian is like a little brother to me. It would have been great to be there during those early days of sweaty dorm acclamation, football games and nights on the town.

On his last day home, we went to lunch and talked about what lies ahead of him during his magical first semester on campus. While I tried to be helpful, give advice and ease any worries he may have had, I realized there’s nothing anyone can say to make your first semester at college any less daunting.

I asked him and our other cousin who is headed out west for school what their biggest worry was about starting this new chapter. Without saying it, they both noted the uncertainty of whether they would like it.

After saying our goodbyes, I started to look back on the start of my college career and realized I had asked him the wrong question. Instead of probing him about what worried him, I should have challenged Brian to ask himself how he could ensure that he will leave campus in May loving this great University.

While I would not have had a specific answer for him (since we all make this University home in our own unique way), I do have one piece of advice for Brian and everyone else on campus: Go to Quad Day.

Better yet, go to Quad Day and sign up for anything that interests you. Then, over the first few weeks at school, figure out what captivates you the most and throw yourself into those activities or clubs. This could mean anything from joining a high intensity club sport to attending meetings and events for the October Lovers club.

Either way, taking the steps to join something new and expand your horizons will, without a doubt, help to make your year on campus the best it can be. While this may sound most relevant to incoming freshmen, it is something people at every level of their education should remember. In fact, I have made it a personal goal to join something new each year on campus. Last year, I applied to write for The Daily Illini after two years of not being involved. This small effort allowed me to make new friends and grow as a writer. While you don’t need to follow the exact steps I did, at least consider doing something totally new. 

The prospect of missing Quad Day is almost as devastating as the thought of missing Thanksgiving as I head to Europe, but I take great comfort in knowing that Brian and the rest of the campus community is about to dive head first into a new year of friends, fun and opportunity.

So, how will you make this year the best it can be?

John is a senior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JohnBuysse.