When I first committed to UMD, I wasn’t happy. I was beyond upset. I remember crying in my bed after I had committed. I felt like I had made a mistake. I dreaded the idea of going to UMD. For whatever reason, I was embarrassed and disappointed in myself. It isn’t where I wanted to go, although to be fair, I didn’t know where I wanted to be. The only thing I was certain of was that I didn’t want to be at this specific school. And that set up my mood for the next few months. Over the weeks, I just decided to accept my fate. I wasn’t switching now, so I’ll just have to make the best of it. Did that make me feel any better? Absolutely not, but It was the mindset I had, and it was the one that I kept for a very long time.

One of my biggest fears was not being able to make friends or find a group to fit into. I hate people. It’s something I say a lot. Now, I’m not an introvert by any means, but after being stuck inside my house for so long, I’ve come to hate the stupidity of people, and the one thing I knew about college was that there would be lots of it. I wanted to make friends, but as the judgemental person I am, I didn’t want to be friends with anyone. To be clear, this was all before setting my foot on this campus. I wasn’t sure if I’d find anyone I’d want to be friends with. As I stated before, I hate people.

When I moved onto campus, I was here before most of the other students. I managed to get a hold of a campus job and needed to arrive a week and a half before everyone else for training. That was when I first met other students. During training, I got close to a few of my coworkers. They were friendly and I loved hearing about their backgrounds. This was when my mindset first started changing. I became friends with many of my coworkers and am very grateful for them. This was so helpful for adjusting to the new college environment.

Something I would recommend all freshman or new incoming students to do is to put yourself out there. College is scary. The change can be terrifying, but you can’t just hide behind that fear. Apply to a campus job. Join clubs. Talk to people in your classes. You’d be surprised at how many people are willing to talk. There are many students in the same shoes as you. Although you may have a negative attitude towards the change, it wouldn’t hurt to have an open mindset.