College Survival Series: Moving In

The College Survival Series introduces and discusses different aspects of college life, and aims to prepare college students for all situations they might encounter during their college career.
Moving In
With Labor Day weekend just a few days away, many students are moving to their respective campuses for the start of the fall semester. Living in a residence hall is a very unique experience, and can be a little daunting, especially if you're living on your own or sharing a room for the first time! Here are a couple tips to help you prepare for move-in day!
1. Contact your roommate! Before you even get to campus, you'll likely receive a letter from your housing office with your roommate assignment and some of their contact information. Reach out to them and chat on the phone, over email, or through Facebook, so you can sort of get a feel of who you're living with and arrange who will bring bigger items for the room (TVs, fridges, microwaves, etc.) so you don't end up with two of each thing in your room! (Unless, of course, that's what you guys want to do!)
2. Make a packing list. Write down everything you think you might need until the next time you visit home (for most students, that's Thanksgiving!). Even though you may feel silly bringing a heavy coat to campus with you in late August, you'll be thanking yourself come November! If you're not sure what to bring with you, check out collegepackinglist.com. They have an awesome interactive list with everything a residential student might need, and they also have a iPhone app if you want to see the list on the go!
3. Only show up at your designated time on move-in day. In order to avoid chaos in the residence halls, ResLife offices schedule specific times for each residential student to move in, normally by location. I know that moving to campus can be exciting and you may want to get there as soon as you can, but only show up to move in when it is your designated time! The move-in staff will appreciate it and it will make for an easier move on your end as well.
4. Utilize the move-in crew. Many colleges recruit their fall athletes to assist with the heavy lifting up to your room (that may just be on the top floor!). Definitely take advantage of this service so you and your loved ones don't have to spend hours lugging heavy bags up the stairs when you should be enjoying your move-in experience together! (Your parents will definitely be thankful for these guys!)

5. Meet your RA/CA! RAs (Resident Assistants)/CAs (Community Advisors)* are students employed by Residence Life to make your life easier! They live in the residence halls with you and are a great resource for you to use if you have any questions or problems within your residence hall. Make an effort to meet them - they're there to help!
I hope these tips help with your move-in day, and that you enjoy settling into your brand new dorm room!
Good luck, and welcome to campus! :)
*They're the same thing, just different terminology depending on what college you attend.

A Glimpse into GA-hood!

With students moving back to both institutions I work at, it's safe to say that summer vacation is officially over for me. (Not that it ever started, really. #worklife) Since the end of July, I've been spending a lot of time over at BSU (Bridgewater State University) in OSIL  (Office of Student Involvement and Leadership) as one of their GAs! (I really need to do another HESA Dictionary post. So many acronyms!) 

Family photo! Can you tell what we were going for?

(I guess I'm Monica in this situation :P)

This job has been nothing but positive thus far - the people I work with are fantastic, I have the opportunity to work closely with student leaders (which is all I really want to do in life), I get assigned projects that I'm actually good at and enjoy doing, and we all go out for cupcakes from time to time! I'm learning so much every day and it's so wonderful having a job that I don't dread waking up for like I've had for the past 7 and a half years. I'm looking forward to the return of all of the students, and to see how this office really functions when the school year is in full-swing!

Reverse Bucket List

I first read about this idea over on Sian's blog, and I absolutely fell in love. I feel like I spend a lot of my time focusing on all the things I want to accomplish and haven't had the chance to do yet (my bucket list), and not about all of the wonderful things that I have done in these 23 years of life (my reverse bucket list). Instead of wallowing on all the things left to do in your life time, this little project really makes you appreciate everything your life has brought you so far, and how far you've come! So, without further adieu, here's my reverse bucket list!

Erika and Nick got Hitched!

Over the weekend Noble, Brett, Jeff, and I took a trip up to Maine to see my lacrosse teammate Erika get married! She's the first of the lacrosse girls to get married, so we were all very excited to be there on her special day. After cutting it as close as we possibly could (thanks to tons of traffic on 95! Grr...), we made it to her adorable backyard wedding in time to grab drinks and watch her quick little ceremony. It was so great to see her so happy, to reunite with old teammates, and to act as ridiculous as we did back in college. I missed it!

College Survival Series: Finding Your Place

The College Survival Series introduces and discusses different aspects of college life, and aims to prepare college students for all situations they might encounter during their college career.

Finding Your Place

It's August, which means most college kids are gearing up to move back into their residence halls for the fall semester. For first year students, this can be a scary time. It's the last few weeks they'll be spending at home, surrounded by family and friends that they've spent their whole lives with. Some are moving away from home for the first time, sharing a room for the first time, and most are going to a school solo without a familiar face in sight.

The thought of finding your place when you don't know a soul can be daunting, but the important thing to remember is that you're not alone, even if you feel like you are. Many other college freshmen are in the same boat - far from home, not one friend coming with them, and just as scared as you are. Here are a few tips to get you through your first scary weeks of college.



1. GO TO ORIENTATION! I can not stress this enough. Every college hosts an orientation program for incoming students during the summer, and this is a great way to make friends, familiarize yourself with campus, ask any questions you might have about campus life, and get a taste of what you'll be experiencing in the fall. If you missed your summer orientation, a lot of schools offer an abridged version of orientation when you move in. Contact your college's student activities office (they're normally in charge of orientation!) to get more details and sign up!

2. Join clubs, teams, or other organizations that interest you. Student organizations are always looking for new members, and chances are if you join one that interests you, you'll meet other students that you have a lot in common with.

3. Leave your door open. (While you're in your room and decent, of course!) At least for the first few weeks. I can't tell you the number of people I met just by doing this. I would say hello to anyone who'd walk by, and sometimes people would poke their head in and introduce themselves. My friends and I would always play video games in my room, and so many other students dropped in to join us!

4. Go to class. This is kind of a given (being that it's the entire point of going to college), but meeting and interacting with your classmates is very important. These are the people that you can study with, the people that can help you with your assignments if you're stuck, and in reality, the people that you're going to be seeing the most often throughout your time at college.

5. Keep an open mind.  College is not high school. You're going to meet people from all walks of life with all sorts of personalities and opinions. These are not the people that you've spent your whole life with and know like the back of your hand. You're going to meet people with conflicting ideas, beliefs, and lifestyles. The key is to keep an open mind. Try your best to listen and learn from others, and you might even learn something about yourself in the process!

August Goals

This month I'm just going to focus on a.) fitting in/settling in at the new job and b.) staying on track. I have a lot of things going on right now and I just want to make sure I'm staying on top of everything before I fall behind and stress myself out even more.

Believe it or not, the coffee goal is a part of this. I find that if I drink too much coffee I get into my own head and think of a million and one things that aren't pressing matters and manage to get myself flustered. I'm going to try and drink water or something else instead of that extra cup of coffee every day. (Plus, I'll be healthier! :D)

And of course, an update on my July goals!

1. Wasn't financially able to register for Hartford, but I'm aiming to officially claim a bib this month!
2. I only managed to read 1 book (the book club book!) during July.
3. Completed!
4. Completed! I do a lot of walking outside when I'm around campus, and if I'm not walking, I'm out running!
5. Completed/In-Progress. I definitely started preparing for the fall in July, but a lot of my preparations are still in my mind. This goal will continue throughout the month of August.

July was an iffy month in the goal department. I transitioned to a new job which definitely took priority over my more leisurely goals!