Finding your footing as a freshman

Change is rarely easy, and the college transition is an extreme case. As a freshman first stepping onto campus, it can take a lot to simply be present. While it’s easy to anticipate the academic challenge that college might bring, it is also easy to overlook how freshman year likely is the furthest you’ve been from all of the people and places you consider home. But, even in that tangle of nerves and excitement, small intentional practices can help ease your transition to college. Here are a few pointers for finding your footing in your first year at Hopkins.

1. Make a collection of things that make you feel at ease.

Homesickness is often, and quite justifiably, a major concern for freshmen. Something that might help bridge the distance is bringing parts of home with you. As an obvious mental cue, I brought the same wall prints and posters from my room back home and fixed them onto the walls of my freshman year dorm. 

Small details can make a huge difference. An essential oil or a room spray that sends you back to a pleasant memory or familiar place can help ease your mind into a state of calm. Other small collections you might consider could include keeping a stock of your favorite comfort snacks, making a Spotify playlist of songs that make you feel grounded, or collecting cards from friends and family. Any of these could be small ways of storing “home” in a bottle and carrying it along with you — the idea is to keep stock of what brings you a sense of safety and stability, and to form a collection of tangible or intangible items that are ready for you on any given day.

2. Keep in touch.

It goes without saying that it can be a huge mood booster to keep in touch with friends and family. The people you know and trust will be a great support system. But, a tip I learned freshman year is that it’s worthwhile to keep in touch with the people that you might want to know on top of everyone you already do. 

Freshman year can be a barrage of meeting new people, from orientation week to clubs and classes. It can seem like you’re often too pressed for time to get to know anyone beyond an introduction, but sending a text or grabbing a quick lunch can make a real difference in building relationships as time goes on. Reach out to that person in your FYM group. Tell that interesting hallmate about your day when they ask. 

For my sophomore and junior years, I’ll be living with one of my closest friends on campus, whom I met by running into her repeatedly inside AMR I’s communal bathroom. We got to know each other through the wonderfully graceful means of talking around our toothbrushes in the early morning. Another friend and I met through the Bystander Intervention Training, and now our regular catch-up lunches are some of my favorite meals. You never know who might become a constant in your life in the next year or so. 

3. Use what you know about yourself as a jumping point.

Perhaps it would be an obvious and overstated nomenclature to say that everywhere you’ve been has led you to this point, but it’s true. Everything that has or hasn’t resonated with you in the past still holds here. Use hobbies and interests that you know you love as a jumping point to seek out communities with similar interests. Clubs, classes and even organizations within greater Baltimore can be fun ways to build circles of people who are excited about the same things as you.

4. Keep an open mind.

College will be unpredictable. While it can be highly useful to have a set of goals and wants from your college experience, it is often even more impactful to keep yourself open to change. Perhaps there might be activities, people or classes that might not have fit into your vision of life prior to college, but that doesn’t mean they might not be able to now. Embrace the fact that college is a time of growth as much as it is one for exploration, and leave room to let life surprise you for the better.

I hope that something in here was even a little helpful. The college transition is no easy feat. Yet — as with any other hurdle — it is possible to break it down into smaller, more manageable components. I think a common thread between all four pointers is the importance of staying connected to the things that bring you joy, be that by projecting ahead to anticipate your future needs or in remaining present with yourself through the more difficult moments. Earlier on, I said that it can be hard enough just being at college as a freshman, and look at you; you’re doing it already. You’ll find your place here before you know it.

Kaitlin Tan is a junior from Manila, Philippines majoring in Writing Seminars and Cognitive Science. She is a Magazine Editor for The News-Letter.