By Clay Thompson | Arts & Life Intern
I have a penchant for writing social-hating, study-loving opinion articles, and this will sound like another one of those run-of-the-mill ones I churn out regularly. Still, I promise you, this article is meant to help, not harm.
The first week of college, whether you are a first-year student or a graduate student, can be very stressful. Many students might like to spend this first week back connecting with friends, exploring the town or going to parties, which is all well and good. But what do these activities and parties really contribute to your life? You can make more friends and decompress before the year begins, but wouldn’t you rather save yourself yearlong stress by sacrificing a week of your time and effort?
Of course, this is where my strategy kicks in: the first week sacrifice.
Step 1: Set up your room and study space
After move-in, don’t wait to place your belongings around your room as the year progresses; find where you want things to go now. By placing everything you bring in a decided place, you have set the beginnings of a helpful pattern, and you won’t be scrambling to find a protractor or extra notebook when you know you placed it in, say, your desk drawer. Take the time to set up everything in your room, especially your study space, so that you can save lots of time and potential stress looking for things you’ll need later on in the year.
Step 2: Get your textbooks ASAP
This is mostly a tip for first-year students. The “new iPhone release”-level lines that snake around the Baylor Bookstore before school begins are a learned experience. This is a helpful tip for anyone who’s thinking of taking a load off before the year begins. Get your books ASAP. If you wait too long, the lines will have you waiting in upper-90-degree temperatures for possibly hours as you wait to get your 10 books to carry back to your place. Don’t say you weren’t warned.
Step 3: Walk your classes
This might be a lesser known — or just lesser done — tip for college students, but it is perhaps the most helpful. Walk your classes before school begins. Trust me when I say that this can literally save your grade in a class. Too many students have confided in me about getting deductions in their grades because they miscalculate how long it will take them to get from their dorm to class. During the week before school begins, get on campus and walk to your classes. Try walking or commuting from wherever you’re living to each class based on the days of your schedule, and try timing yourself to see how long it takes to get from place to place. While this might sound ridiculous, knowing exactly how long it takes you to get from your bed to Religion 1301 can be a lifesaver — in terms of both your calves and your grades.
Step 4: Connect with your roommates
This tip is probably one that most students will be doing already, but I still feel it needs to be said. Connect with your roommates. These are the people who you will likely be spending the entire school year with, so in your first week, try to get to know them well. Set up a group chat, and set ground rules. These are things that can really help in the long run with roommate communication and will very likely help create much better bonds of understanding and trust among those you are living with. Take it from a person who tried and failed to connect with their roommates from last year: It is better to have tried to connect with roommates than to have never tried at all.
Step 5: Explore campus
While it is definitely very important to be social and explore the town around campus, taking the time to go through campus is much more important in your first week. Go out and find the libraries and a great study or eating spot, or maybe make a friend on campus. Exploring the college you are at can really help you find places, resources and people who can make your college experience much smoother, less stressful and more enjoyable.
Your first week before school is so important and so vital for your college experience for the rest of the year. Believe me, you will have plenty of opportunities and chances to make friends, go out and have fun. Instead of wasting your first week going to parties and relaxing, sacrifice that time to start helpful, time- and stress-saving routines. I promise you that your time will not have been spent in vain. Doing these things will save you so much time and stress throughout the year.
You will not regret your first week sacrifice. Trust me.
