Moving into a new environment comes with an overwhelming feeling of emotions. You are adjusting to a new environment and new people around you. The best advice I could give to ease your way into this new journey ahead of you is to spend time as much time outside of your dorm room as you can. This primarily applies to the first few weeks after move-in, when campus life is hustling and bustling with the fresh feeling of a new school year and a new class of freshmen on campus. This is the best time to go out of your comfort zone and become accumulated with student life with the myriad of opportunities that are being set in front of you during these first few weeks. RSO’s and professional organizations are recruiting new members, club sports are looking for new players and academic teams are seeking fresh minds to contribute to their team. Spend these first few weeks branching out, look for the flyers that hold information for new meetings, attend virtual Quad Day and do your research on what clubs or organizations might fit you best. Leave your dorm room open and see if you meet someone new down the hall. Become accumulated with your surroundings and challenge yourself to find new ways of experiencing college outside of your typical classroom setting.

Even with the virtual meetings and recruitment taking place, there are still going to be buildings, coffee shops, libraries and the ARC that will open with limited capacity. Instead of staying locked up in your dorm room all day, make sure you go for a walk, study in the communal study rooms, look for students with similar interests to yourself and introduce yourself. Your dorm has a lot of convenience with your own desk, your bed and the dining hall nearby. However, staying in one room all day will not benefit your health or your social relationships. Remind yourself to get some fresh air and find a home away from home where you can study. Sometimes studying in your room makes taking a nap seem a little too tempting, a lesson you may realize when it is closer to finals season. Even if you cannot take your class in a typical classroom, find a new location that gives you a place to focus where you can enjoy the setting of a college campus and concentrate on your classes for the day.

Your dorm room should be thought of as a safe haven. A place you can come home to sleep, relax. and enjoy time away from your classes and responsibilities. This will be a challenge this year if most of your classes are online, and you may feel obligated to spend all day in your dorm as you complete your academic requirements for the year. Take advantage of everything around you. You are living on a beautiful campus filled with resources to help you succeed in your career. Visit various buildings, become an expert of your surroundings and find a new part of campus that makes you feel at home. Turn your dorm room into your safe haven and find friends that make it fun to get outside of your room and seek new adventures. Step away from the books from time to time and go to the Main Quad at night or explore a new side of campus you have not yet visited. Four years will fly by faster than you think, do you really want to say you spent a whole year locked up in your dorm room?

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