Dear Frosh, Don't Freak Out.
Dear Froshie,
At this point you’re probably a little frustrated by that nickname, but it’s only temporary, I promise. As any student will probably tell you, time flies when you’re having fun. Soon you’ll be settled into the Queen’s community just comfortably enough to no longer feel like a newbie. On that note: welcome to what will probably be the best four years of your life! You are now officially a Queen’s University student, how does it feel?! (Or as ArtSci would say... how do YOU feel!?)I’m sure you’re sensing all sorts of emotions right now; I remember being excited, nervous, and absolutely terrified all at the same time. On top of all that, there was constant confusion. Don’t worry, feeling a bit lost from time to time is part of the first-year experience! By now, you have all met your Gaels, frosh group, and floormates. Although being surrounded by so many unfamiliar people and being bombarded with so much new information is overwhelming, I hope you’ve been able to make connections with some of these new faces so far, and have had the chance to learn some of the ropes around campus. If not, that’s totally normal too. Frosh week is advertised as being the time you will “find your people” and “make your mark” at Queen’s. Well fortunately, nobody expects you to have it all figured out by the end of O-Week. This was definitely the case for me and I wish someone had warned me not to expect so much so early in my experience.I remember moving into res thinking I was going to meet five new best friends by lunchtime. I talked to people, got a few new snapchat adds, Instagram followers, Facebook friends and all that. But my hopes of finding my core friend group in a matter of hours was simply unrealistic. I was lucky enough to have my sister, who was in fourth year at the time, guide and reassure me during my first few days. Although this was comforting, seeing her living her best life with her housemates made me jealous. I was craving that sort of close, gal-pal friend group and I was anxious to have my own! Not to mention, hearing both of my parents ramble on over the years about their crazy, wild, memories and the lifelong friendships they made at Queen’s, I was getting overwhelmed and panicked. WHY DIDN’T I HAVE THAT YET!? Do I not belong at Queen’s? Was this the wrong choice for me? Well, the truth is, undergrad is four years (hey, sometimes even more). There are many chances to make those lifelong friendships and create those crazy memories with your housemates. I can confidently say things fell into place for me at Queen’s and I no longer feel the anxiety I once did. So Froshie, don’t worry if you don’t have it all in the first couple of weeks. The truth is: no one did.
