As promised, here’s part two of my list of tips for people coming to Wellesley for the first time! (Full disclosure, last week’s gosling picture was from my sophomore year, but the new photo is from this year’s geese family!)
-Go to the student theater shows. They’re free! And they’re really good! There are often yummy snacks!
-I’m not your mom, but eat at least some fruits and vegetables every day. You will feel better in the long run, I promise.
-Poke around the Ville (our name for the town of Wellesley) early. I’m stealing this one from my list of suggestions for people visiting with their parents because it is still true! If you can find a fun, local spot to make your hangout spot, it can be a great way to get off campus regularly.
-On that note, get off campus a bunch. It’s easy to get completely wrapped up in stuff going on at Wellesley and just not leave, but that can get a bit suffocating pretty quickly. The bus into Boston is free during the week and only $3 on the weekends–you have no excuse! Finding a favorite spot to hang out in Boston is also a good idea. I didn’t leave campus a lot my first two years here and I regret that in retrospect. Leaving is great for clearing your head and getting a little perspective.
-Take advantage of all the lectures and talks. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the emails (and there are, uh, a lot of emails, guys) but it’s worth sorting through them to pick out the cool stuff that Wellesley offers. Showing up at random lectures has led me to meeting everyone from a Native American leader to a state senator to North Korean defectors. It’s common to have more time your first year, so go for it now!
-Set up a regular time to call your family. Otherwise, there’s just a lot of texting back and forth, and missed calls, and “why didn’t you reach out/why didn’t you?”, and vague resentment on both sides. Decide Monday nights or whatever are your time and go from there.
-If you see Graham Central Station ice cream is available while you’re getting lunch, grab a cup right then and there. Don’t wait until you’re finished eating your actual lunch. It will be gone by then, if it isn’t already. Jump! On! It!
-Recognize that you can’t do everything. Once I accepted this, I stopped feeling guilty about not being able to magically fit in everything I wanted to do. You’re going to have to make trade-offs between hanging out with friends, keeping on top of work, sleeping, and all the other things on your list. Just acknowledging that it’s not all going to work out perfectly as planned can be freeing.
-Take advantage of the lake. This one won’t be a surprise to people who have read my previous posts. Heading out on boats, chilling on the meadow overlooking the lake, taking a hike around the circumference–there are a lot of options here, and they’re all good.
-Prioritize sleep. Seriously. The temptation to stay up half the night catching up on work or hanging out with friends will never be higher. Don’t. Succumb. Also, some tough news, but by the end of your time here, your body’s ability to cope with all-nighters will probably have decreased. Sorry, y’all. Sleep!
-If you’re thinking about majoring in something with lots of requirements, like computer science, and you want to study abroad, plan that out literally your first week. Talk to your new adviser about what you want to do and sort out your schedule. You don’t want to get caught short sophomore year.
-Don’t stress about it! Lots of people go to college every year and it turns out fine. Almost no one I know found going off to college as intimidating as they thought it was going to be. You’ve got this!