It didn’t seem all that long ago that I was standing in your shoes, walking around campus trying to absorb the unfamiliar surroundings I’d be faced with for the next four years.
As a rising senior, I am going through a similar process, as I will be doing an internship in Washington D.C. for the fall semester. I am anxious, excited and perplexed as to how I will find my way around my future stomping-grounds. Most of you probably feel the same about the Binghamton University campus. If you are, don’t fret. In no time at all, you’ll feel like you can walk around campus backwards, and blindfolded.
Even though you perceive yourself as a different person at the end of your four years of high school, you most likely will become someone you never have imagined at the end of these next four. The semesters will go by, and you’ll ask, “So what does it all mean?” I can’t promise it’ll hit you over the head, but the changes you create within yourself will hinge on you, and will culminate over many months, and years.
I can say that the most profound experiences of your college career probably will not occur in the classroom, but in the events and figures surrounding you in the world. Then, your classes will allow you to find out why you think and feel the way you do about particular subjects.
Do not be afraid to adjust your sails to the winds of change, either. It’s okay not to have a set plan.
Follow your interests, and at the end of three or four years, a clearer answer will naturally come to you. Hear what others have to say and take notice of the advice they give you, but don’t abandon the true voice inside your head. You will mentally and intellectually arrive at a different place than you would have had you determined from the get-go what it was you planned to do for the rest of your life.
This can be scary sometimes, but here’s what you should keep in mind for now.
During your orientation you will come across strange classes such as political anthropology, organic chemistry and law & justice. They sound much scarier than they actually are (though maybe not the organic chemistry, as my friends have attested to.) Don’t get overwhelmed. The first time you register for classes is the hardest; it’s all easier from there.
Be sure to check out the barbecues scattered about campus, as you should become acquainted with Sodexo (the company that will provide your food options for the next four years).
After a long day of exploring campus, be sure to stop by the Nature Preserve, one of the most neglected and beautiful places on campus. Located right behind Mountainview College, it is a place for refuge and reflection, when everything else in your life becomes far more hectic and stressful than you’d like.
They don’t tell you some of the important things about college till you graduate, which sort of defeats the purpose. Hopefully what i’ve learned can provide some early insight. And, most of all, welcome to Binghamton University, your home and world for the next four years.