To All of the Incoming Freshman Out There...

This is my final blog of the semester (I know you're all so terribly torn up about that, too!), so I am going to try and pass along some words of wisdom about how to best get involved and meet people during your freshman year.

The week between move-in and classes is called Freshman Orientation Week. This is where I met most of my freshman year friends and even my first college boyfriend. As cheesy as some of the activities may sound, try to go to as many of them as you can. It's such a great way to meet people. Remember that during this week, you're all in the same boat. No one really knows anyone else aside from roommates or the occasional former high school classmate. Get out there and just ask people the basic questions: "Hi, my name is yadda yadda. Where are you from? What's your major?" Naturally, you aren't going to want to be best friends with everyone that you meet, but as long as you've got a good starting point, you're bound to develop a core group of friends.

People always laugh when I admit to how shy I was during my freshman year. I was that girl in a Smiths t-shirt who sat in her room with her Stratocaster trying to figure out The Queen Is Dead. I was too shy to go out and meet people, and I really regret it. I didn't start developing a real group of friends at Emerson until my junior year. I just have to keep reminding myself that even though all of the kids at my high school thought I was the weirdo in the Elastica-wannabe all-girl punk band, people in college don't give a flying you-know-what about that kind of stuff. Emerson kids are some of the most open, understanding people. If they like you as a person, you're golden. After your freshman year, all of the high school-style drama seems to completely fade away. It's glorious!

I suppose that is what I am trying to say: get out and meet people. I know it's hard as I was once (and still am at times) the shy, shoegazing girl. The friends that I have made through the radio station WECB are some of my closest friends at Emerson. Now that some of them are graduating or moving on to do things like the DC semester, I am positively gutted because I will miss them so much. I also got lucky that I met my fellow Britpop-obsessed soul mates by going to Klaxons and Placebo shows.

I wish all of you the best of luck in your freshman year. Have a great summer!