Freshmen year is always a fresh start. New school, new
friends, new teacher, new subjects, and, unfortunately, seniors. Most freshmen would dread the seniors and orientation the
most; oddly enough for me, I kind of look forward to it. The (so-called) scary seniors, the funny hairstyles, the
strange tasks, the humiliating and bothersome customs for freshmen to
accustomed to. Fortunately and unfortunately, I didn’t get to grasp that awful
(yet memorable) freshmen “bully” since my university (and most uni now) has
banned any acts of bullying. We escaped most of the dreadful parts of
orientation, except for the tasks. They were not exactly strange, but rather tiresome.
The nametag, the journal, the song. Seemed pointless, and they partly are, seen
explicitly. But implicitly, they all had a point (read: bonding).
So, I was a little devastated by the boring orientation (I
went through three orientations; from the uni, faculty, and major. The
orientation from my major was the hardest, though, yet it is the most
memorable). I tried to stay excited by joining committees out of interest (not
based on who were in the committee),
but later I learned the importance of sticking to your closest friends (read:
your peer) at any occassions. I always hated to appear alone (or lonely) in
public places as much as I hate being an outsider. There were many events I
joined out of pure interest, and I ended up not enjoying them very much because
I was whether by myself or with the wrong
friends.
[I was also devastated by the fact that I gained weight
instead of losing (since most of my friends are, starting college),
transitioning from homecook to street food. (now I’m trying to take control and try to inhabit the
eating style of my “naturally” skinny friends) Guuurl, feel me!]
I joined very few committees in the first semester (and the
semesters following). I picked them out carefully as I feel the need to take interest
in the event itself and the committee won’t force me to fund raise by selling
snacks. Plus, I feared that if I took too many non-academic activities, I will
struggle with my academics as many seniors have warned the freshmen. Believe me, that’s bullshit. Well, if
you major in heavy stuffs like
medical, engineering, science, or law, then yes,
you will suffer in academics, let alone juggling both academic and non-academic
life. But I’m in communication! I would say that I’m not bragging or
underestimating when I say your academic
life is that easy to put up with in the first three
semesters. SO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR FREE TIME! Learn from my mistakes:(
(but don’t be in
committees forever, though, as it will frain the cash out of you. From fund
raising to set up costs covered by the committees–and rare case of reimbursement.
Committees are “jumping rocks”, so unless you want to build an EO, you better
start finding other ways to be productive–which wouldn’t cost you for nothing
and, better, earn you some money)
Some committees disappointed me as the spirit was down
already, while some other kind of ditched
me, as in ignoring my (perhaps stupid) ideas. I joined a club I thought I’d be
passionate in, but turned out the other members just didn’t work with me in
terms of chemistry (and now I’m considering to resign myself as a member). I
failed to get into the organization I desired the most, because (I think) I was
not professional and prepared enough to join; therefore I wasn’t qualified. Maybe I should’ve chosen different
department, maybe I should’ve given other organizations a go, I thought.
But shit happens anyway. You might be trapped in a committee
or club that drains your pockets, or obligated to attend regular meetings to
discuss about topics you don’t even want
to hear. You might get super busy and dilemmas about whether you should
skip class and attend an event you’re involved in, or otherwise. The best
advice I could give is to keep professional. Whatever trap it
is that you’re in, how much money you give away to fund an event, just don’t
ruin your name for not being professional. Do your best; whether at doing your
jobdesc or escaping your jobdesc (give logical or dead-end reasons).
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