The quiet life
I’m naturally quite a shy and introverted person, so one of the things that I was worried about when I started college was that I’d be leaving my friends behind. I was nervous about meeting new people, and was concerned that I would have difficulty meeting anyone new amidst the flurry of classes and my part-time job, which took up quite a few hours of my week. I was terrified that I would be completely isolated, and miss out on all of the experiences that everyone seems to talk about when they look back on their college years.
The first year was quite difficult for me, as I didn’t see very many familiar faces between my different classes, and my part-time work schedule made it difficult to stay on campus to attend any club meetings or social events. I made a few acquaintances, but in that year didn’t meet anyone I’d really call a close friend. I did find, though, that as I moved through the years, my classes began to thin out, and I was seeing the same people over and over in my classes. Knowing that we had something in common really helped me open up, and over time, we met for study sessions, and then for coffee and dinners.
Still, my work made it difficult for me to spend a lot of time with my new friends, and I did find that I was missing out on quite a few of the evening events—heading out to a party or a bar, and I found this quite demoralising. I did begin to take up some activities outside of college—dance classes and so forth—as these fitted in better with my schedule, and I found that this really helped things. Still, I wish I’d found a way to manage my part-time work more effectively so that I could’ve gotten more out of my college experience. Looking back, I’d definitely recommend diving in and joining up whatever club will have you, and chatting to anyone you meet. You’ll appreciate the whole tertiary experience a whole lot more.
Alright everyone: I have significant news about the trailride, it emerged that there is something about equine insurance that we need to look into. I know nothing about this, so Claire if you could do this it would be a load off my mind.