<p>I'm a freshman in college looking for some advice from fellow students on heading back to school after winter break. I am a very independent person who works very well in an academic setting (though my first semester gpa was still a little disappointing). However i come from a close knit family and really enjoyed being home with them and with my high school friends for almost a month this winter break. this combined with a dislike for my college so far has lead me to dread going back in a week.</p>
<p>I don't go to school far away but I don't want to come home too often because i don't want my parents to be alarmed. To start, I don't know what I'm majoring in and thats very frustrating. I also really don't like the social scene at my school. i am very lonely; i haven't made good friends despite my social personality, and i simply don't feel like many of the people at my school are the type of people i like. to make matters worse, my roommates are very immature. they are best friends and i had many conflicts with last semester to the point where they don't talk to me anymore and i don't talk to them. </p>
<p>i have a lot of things going for me at college, which makes the prospect of transferring very unappealing. i have a full tuition scholarship, a position on my schools publication, i have a 12 hour a week worstudy, positions in few other clubs I'm interested in and I'm up for an RA position next year. my classes are harder than I've ever imagined and the grades are humbling but i think I'm getting a good education.</p>
<p>I don't really understand my position. all my life i thought i was "made for college," as i am independent, a go-getter and a genuine school lover, but i have never been so unhappy about returning to school in my life. has anyone ever felt like this? how do you get over this feeling? what can i do to make school more enjoyable?</p>
<p>The more you get involved at school and the more you’re there, the more you’ll get used to it. I felt kind of overwhelmed and disappointed my first semester as well, but I started talking to more people and doing different things and got through it. </p>
<p>Have you considered looking for an on-campus job? I started working at my uni’s writing center this fall, and it’s been a blast. I’m getting paid to do what I love (work with writing), and I’m surrounded by tons of like-minded people. My co-workers have become some of my closest friends, and we all go out together and get involved with each other’s lives. It helps because you see them regularly year-round, not just for a semester when you have class together or a year where you’re on the same floor. </p>
<p>Being an RA would be a great opportunity as well. In a way, you’ll have some automatic friendships because the people on your floor will depend on you and look to you for guidance. </p>
<p>Are you close with any of the people in your clubs? Those are also people you can connect with more closely.</p>
<p>@harvestmoon no i’m not close with any people in my clubs…we just didn’t click. some of my clubs are just starting meetings so maybe i will get close to people next semester.</p>
<p>i have a 12 hour a week work study as a lifeguard. i met a few acquaintances through it but nobody is really friends with one another.</p>
<p>thank you for your helpful response, i really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Oh, I see. Well, maybe you’ll click with people from the other clubs once you start having meetings. Or maybe you’ll find a nice buddy in one of your classes. You never know what you might find. </p>
<p>Also, it’ll get better once you figure out your major and start taking major courses. Your classmates will be people going for the same things and who have the same interests, so you’ll all go at it with a bit of a friendlier attitude. This past semester I had 2 major classes and 2 gen eds, and it was like night and day. Everyone in my gen eds just sat there and stared at their phones while everyone in my major classes discussed what classes they were taking and which professors were good for what. By the end of the semester, I added 3/4 of the class on Facebook and we all changed our schedules to be in the same classes this winter. Also, for other fields like math and science, I hear that a lot of people make study groups that they keep throughout their academic career, which would definitely be helpful. </p>
<p>I guess a lot of it just happens naturally. You’ll find a classmate or floormate that you’ll click with, and from there, you’ll both be introduced to each other’s social circles and the world will get smaller and better. </p>
<p>Good luck with everything! Just hang in there and be open. :)</p>
<p>You can request a reassignment for housing. Living with people that don’t talk to you is stressful. Call the student life office to inquire.
How about an intermural or club spring sport? Going to the campus gym? Helping out backstage for a theater show? Volunteer tutoring in the community? Social dance class? You really have to dig around to find what appeals to you. What did you like about this college when you visited?</p>
<p>@windbehindwings</p>
<p>I didn’t like the college when i visited. i got a generous scholarship and tried to make myself like it.</p>
<p>I understand that you don’t have to love your college and that most people don’t, but I need it to be more tolerable than it is now. I am already pretty involved but I think you’re right,t here are a lot more things out there in college and I have to dig around more to find a niche. </p>
<p>I can’t transfer, I am on the RHA for my dorm and if I leave the building I am off the RHA. But i can make do with crappy roommates.</p>