As I’ve started my junior year at Notre Dame, I’ve found myself reflecting a lot more than I’m accustomed to. Beginning the second half of my planned four years here has brought my mind wandering back to where the first half started. During week one, I remember feeling many of the same emotions you first-year students likely felt. Apprehension about fitting in, self-made pressure on my academic endeavors and overall cluelessness about the whole process hit me at one point or another.
I also recall the importance of the first weekend. Not Welcome Weekend, but the one approaching all of us now. Once the first Sunday comes and goes, you’re in it. Gone are the days of unpacking, reading the syllabus and being pulled to a million different first-year activities. Now begins the time of finding friendships, finding passions and, most importantly, finding yourself as a college student. It might feel overwhelming. That’s a good thing. Here are four pieces of advice to help you thrive into September.
Make it your own
I’ll preface my rambling by making this request: feel free to ignore everything I’m about to say. Over the next four years, you’re going to see and hear about so many different examples of people living the college life. Some will frequent the bars of South Bend every Thursday night. Others will work tirelessly for perfect grades. A few will spend unhealthy quantities of time around student media outlets (guilty as charged).
The truth is, nobody can be all of those things at the same time. Now, I invite you to try out as many different experiences as possible — that’s what year one is for! But, at the end of the day, the best undergraduate life is your undergraduate life. Remember why you’re here and want to be here. Start by building on that. It’ll take you farther than you can imagine.
Find your people
As older readers know, the random roommate system poses its challenges. You may think now that your roommate — or other folks you live close to — have to be your best friends no matter what. And hey, if they are, good on you. But sometimes, things don’t work out the way you hope, and learning to be okay with that is a big step to take.
If you struggle — like many of us have — to find the right relationships, think back to why you’re here. Chances are, there are several people that are here for very similar reasons. They want to help you and need you to help them. We’re all just trying to make it to the place we set out for when we committed to be here. Try to find a core group of people that’ll get you there.
Be in the moment
This one is way easier said than done. How do you process all of the uncertainty that life after college will bring? Sometimes, the answers to the impossible questions to the future are best discovered with very little thought.
I remember how much I struggled with this idea about a month into my first year. The night before one of my first exams, I finished studying and started to go down a deep internet rabbit hole regarding my future. By the next morning, I was irrationally convinced that I wanted to switch my major — all from one night’s worth of overreacting. Make no mistake, planning for the future is a huge part of transitioning to adulthood. But doing too much of it can detach you from all the beautiful things around you right now. Enjoy the moment, do the best you can and the rest will take care of itself.
Love every single day
Never, ever take for granted that you’re here. Yes, college will beat you up every once in a while. But getting to this point required you to confront at least a few challenges, right? If you’ve made it this far, chances are you’ll overcome the next obstacle.
This brings me to my final point: remember how special this stage of your life really is. Imagine walking through campus alongside your 10-year-old self, and try to picture their amazement at what you’ve now become. That’s what makes every day so valuable. So love them all — even the bad ones — and find something to be grateful for in each. You won’t have to look very far!
You can contact Tyler at treidy3@nd.edu.
