<p>I know were all counting the days till we start college. For those that went through the experience, how was your first day? Did you know anyone? What did you do during those gap hours? Who did you eat with? Did you get lost? AND ANY TIPS FOR INCOMING FRESHMEN? THNX.</p>
<p>I’ll be a first year as well! :)</p>
<p>One of my upperclassmen friends said that last year, The Daily (UW’s student newspaper) published a map on the back of their opening day issue… with all the names of the buildings switched around.</p>
<p>CHAOS ENSUED.</p>
<p>Don’t walk around holding a map or look both ways before crossing a one way street. Find out where your classes are before they start.</p>
<p>Well, let’s see. As far as I remember, my family gathered for tearful goodbyes in the driveway as we loaded up my grandma’s car. My mom, grandma, brother and I all crammed in with my stuff and made the drive to campus. When we got there, we struggled to find the building (half in the woods), then got my keys and lugged my stuff into the building, which thankfully had an elevator. Then my mom helped me get unpacked. At some point during this process my roommate showed up with her mom, and we helped her carry some stuff inside before going off to lunch as a family.</p>
<p>After they dropped me off on campus, I went off to start an early arrival program where we all sat at random tables and had a sorta crappy catered barbeque dinner. Then we played games (pillage and plunder) and went off in groups to do a campus scavenger hunt with the program leaders. Then we broke off into our assigned groups and started to get to know each other with various ice breaker games. I made friends with one of the girls in my group (who also lived in my building) and got back pretty late. When I got back, my roommate was getting in from her orientation program and her mom was still there. She spent the entire time we were gone organizing her side of the room for her. 
</p>
<p>I don’t think I really got to know my roommate all that well during the first few days because we were both really busy with our programs. As for meals, I ate with my group for the first few days until the rest of the students arrived on campus. I think I may have hung out with the girl that was in my group at some point during the evening.</p>
<p>Overall, my best advice is to just be yourself, and hopefully you’ll make lasting friends. If not, most people’s groups change over the course of freshman and even sophomore years. Establish boundaries with your roommate so he or she doesn’t walk all over you, but also be accommodating too. Also, if you have to have a meal alone, it’s no big deal, and especially the first couple weeks other people will be out to make friends. If you see someone sitting alone, unless they’re really closed off like with headphones or a book, don’t be afraid to sit with them and strike up a conversation. Other than that, make an effort to talk to the people in your hall and see if anyone wants to go get lunch/dinner with you. Within the first few days you’ll probably know a few people in your building at least well enough to go and knock on their doors, and a lot of people keep their doors open too. Make sure to stop in and say hi. :)</p>
<p>I’m sure I can come up with more but that’s all I have for now.</p>
<p>Also, please properly learn how to laundry. Many campuses give out RED ‘freshman shirts’ because most people will throw ALL their shirts into the wash. Red will bleed onto white, and you will have a Red freshman shirt and a ton of pink shirts.</p>
<p>First Day of Classes:</p>
<p>Woke up a little late for first 8 AM, ran to math building
Wished Campus was smaller
Made friend who was going to my next class
Up large hill for Bio
Wished Campus was smaller
Couldn’t find Chem building
Wished Campus was smaller
Couldn’t find Chem classroom
Wished Campus was smaller
ran back to bio
wished campuse was smaller
realized bio labs don’t start until the second week of the semester.
went back to dorm
wished campus was smaller
watched TV for hours
ate dinner with roommate/girl down the hall, still two of my best friends.</p>
<p>Tips: You do not need to bring your text books to class.
You may be able to find the building before you start class, but you will get lost finding the room.
Breakfast is a lofty goal.</p>
<p>It wasn’t really that exciting of a day. All I remember specifically was my calc professor (first class) writing the problem numbers of 80 problems due the following week on the board and saying, “Freshman. Welcome to college.” Not that interesting. </p>
<p>As for first dorm day… Yeah, wasn’t all that exciting. Everyone was kind of just talking to everyone, so don’t be afraid to do that. People walked around checking out how everyone set up their rooms, etc. The room layout my roommate and I did was pretty popular. </p>
<p>And I second cabhax. Some people make it a group excursion to go find their classroom buildings, just as something to do with new hallmates, but definitely walk to all your buildings so you know where they are and what foot routes to take there.</p>
<p>I did the walk-around with some older students at my school, but we couldn’t get into the buildings. The getting lost problem happened in the buildings themselves not find the buildings.</p>
<p>I got told my a second yr in my class that I didn’t need to take notes while the prof was explaining the syllabus he gave us(but I did anyway so I got a dirty look), I didn’t know what number was mine in line for food so i got yelled at by the lady calling out the numbers…went to the wrong building but still made it to class on time. A successful day is what I would call it, lol.</p>
<p>So let me just start by saying that I have a history of getting faint when people talk about blood and/or diseases. </p>
<p>Anyways it was unbearably hot my move-in day. I briefly met my roommates who seemed cool and nice, but then I got dragged out by my dad who led me all around town finalizing up some dorm-purchases and buying a new bike. So I was extremely busy.</p>
<p>I hung out with my dad most of the day and was pretty stressed, as I was soooo busy. I didn’t eat lunch or drink fluids the entire day cause it seemed like I didn’t have time! </p>
<p>So the residential staff bring everyone out in front of the dorm around 4 PM to introduce themselves and go over some basic things. This was the first time I had come into contact with anyone besides my three suitemates, aka it was my first impression for my peers for the next year. So we were all just standing outside, baking in the afternoon sun, when the dorm health advocate starts talking about the swine-flu and precautions to avoid it. </p>
<p>Remember I hadn’t had water all day, I had barely any food, it was burning outside, and now suddenly someone is talking about the one-thing I hate to listen to: infectious diseases! So I got nauseous real quick. My vision started to blur. I told my dad “I have to go the bathroom” and started walking towards the side of the group. </p>
<p>After a couple steps the next thing I remember was lying on the floor (grass, used floor to rhyme w/ Hotel California), with dozens of my dormmates, their parents, and the residential staff surrounding me. I started to get up and said something along the lines of “don’t worry, I’ve fainted a few times before, it’s no big deal,” when they interrupt and tell me that they already called the ambulance (in the ten seconds I was out!). I was like “oh god that’s so embarrassing, so much for first impressions” which provided the situation with some sorely needed comic relief. </p>
<p>The paramedics arrived and took me over to the ambulance and gave me a few gatorades to down, while the introductions went on as planned. I ended up being okay, my suitemates ribbed me about it for a couple minutes but were more glad that I didn’t have like a serious underlying medical-issue. The paramedics advised I go and stay overnight at the hospital, worried I may have gotten a concussion, but I was like “hell no, not tonight” so I stayed and actually went out partying that night. </p>
<p>Turns out about half the people remembered that it was me specifically, but most of those were afraid to bring it up. Everyone remembered though. We would laugh about it later on. </p>
<p>Anyways so I made a terribly awkward first impression, but it never really held me back. Of all the first impressions I got of other people, I quickly found out that all of my impressions were wrong. So don’t sweat making a good first impression. In a few weeks, it won’t even matter.</p>
<p>My first dorm day sucked. I got into the dorm the night before my roommate and decided I would stay in long enough to greet her and see if she needed any help unloading, and I was really excited to start getting to know her. She was four hours later than she said she’d be and I hung around waiting for her anyway. She came in with a bunch of her high school friends, only bothered to introduce us after her father prodded her when he thought I wasn’t looking, and then she ran off with them without inviting me. Which was awkward since her parents had already invited me to dinner with them. I was annoyed since I had sat there all day waiting for her but figured she was probably just excited and forgot her manners, and I totally let it go. Unfortunately she was a crappy roommate anyway.</p>
<p>My first day of class it took me two hours to find my last class even though I was right in front of the building because I didn’t understand that it was built on top of the parking structure I kept circling in confusion. I seem to remember sitting down on the grass and sobbing into my cell phone with my mom while considering going home to drop the class because it obviously didn’t exist anyway. Otherwise my first day went without incident and was generally enjoyable. Though I do seem to remember it raining harder than I have ever experienced in my life, and my phone drowned while inside my purse.</p>
<p>While eating eating in the cafeteria can be a social occasion, eating alone in college is not quite the same as high school. Don’t feel weird about walking into the cafeteria alone if you don’t have people to eat with yet. Everyone has hectic schedules and it is normal to eat alone sometimes.</p>
<p>That sucks Senior0991. Was it awkward for anyone when you met your roommate and did you know anyone?</p>
<p>Dang, those are some tough stories :(</p>
<p>My first day was nothing too unusual. I went to a community college drove there with a high school friend. Traffic jam into the school then first class- while it was pouring down rain! So I remember everyone sitting and watching the late people running around in the rain and laughing. I also remember sitting down and thinking “man, this looks just like high school!” The classrooms really did, lol! But it was a nice campus for a community college.</p>
<p>And I also had a case of “this class doesn’t exist!” I can’t remember if that was my very first day or the first day of second semester, but I was running around the business building looking for my math class. The rooms were so oddly numbered- they would just suddenly jump and then the next number would appear on the other side of the building. It didn’t look like there was anywhere to look- but I wasn’t the only confused one. Know that about getting lost- you are definitely not going to be the only one!!</p>
<p>This is embarrassing: because that class was so confusing to find during the second half of the week I actually went and sat down in the wrong room! It looked exactly like my math class room, and I couldn’t really remember what the people looked like so I thought I was right. Then a different teacher walked in and I thought, “well this is weird!”. Then she started to call for attendance, and I realized my mistake. I ran out of the room, so embarrassed! </p>
<p>On eating alone: it’s definitely not as awkward as eating alone in high school! Most of the time I ate alone just because my schedule did not fit with anyone else’s. It’s definitely not unusual.</p>
<p>My first days were fine.</p>
<p>I had the care packed up the night before move-in…got up pretty early (around 7, I think) to finish getting ready and head up. Was at my school by 10 with my dad. Got all my stuff brought up to my room while I checked in (at my school, upperclassmen help with freshmen move-in and take care of bringing all their stuff up to their rooms). Started unpacking, and the rest of my family came up and stayed til my roommate and her family came so they could all meet etc.</p>
<p>That first day, I mostly hung out with my roommate. We were friends in high school, so it was cool.</p>
<p>The day after we moved in, there was a day called DIVE (Dolphins In Volunteer Efforts) which I participated in, and that’s where I met a guy who I’ve been friends with since.</p>
<p>I went to most of the events that they had for us during welcome week. All of them with my roommate, and some of them with other girls from our floor that we joined up with. </p>
<p>I definitely had trouble finding my classrooms at first, but that was pretty much all in terms of getting lost since I go to a small school with a small campus.</p>
<p>TIPS:</p>
<ul>
<li>Leave your door open during the first couple of days</li>
<li>Don’t be shy</li>
<li>Participate in any activities the school might have for you</li>
</ul>
<p>i dont understand what is wrong with looking both ways before crossing the street. i think id be a lot more dead if i didnt do that</p>
<p>^ lol, for real</p>
<p>I got to know some of the people in my residence hall building, some of which I had met prior to coming to school via a new student communication page that XU had set up for the incoming freshmen to get to know each other. Then some of us went to go find our classrooms since classes did not start until the next week (we had an orientation program for the entire weekend prior to classes begining). Finding the classrooms ahead of time was helpful, and might be something to consider doing especially if you have a large campus, and even if you have a reasonably small campus like XU but end up in a random building in a different area of campus than most of the other academic buildings. =)</p>
<p>Its a 1 way street… @somni</p>
<p>I still look both ways on 1 way streets, out of habit.</p>
<p>Okay, my first day:</p>
<p>I went to the wrong check in desk, twice! Then I finally found it and they were very friendly. It was about 110 degrees(seriously, Arizona) so that made things harder, but everything went pretty smoothly. Except this cart hit the back of my ankle and gave me a huge gash! I’ve seriously never needed a first aid kit until then haha. After I moved in I went to a training meeting and had dinner. Now I’m back in my dorm and my floor is almost completely empty! Can’t wait for it to start filling up soon. :)</p>
<p>All in all: Don’t hesitate to ask people for help! Definitely grab some people to help you move, fewer trips=way better. Introduce yourself to lots of people, even if they don’t seem very friendly just move on to someone else. Don’t get discouraged. Oh, and see if your school has move in carts! Just keep em away from your ankle.</p>