The first day of school has come and gone. For some, it was their first day of college ever, and for others, it was their last first day of school ever. Across the board, however, excitement and nerves run through the air at the prospect of the upcoming year.
“It is definitely a little more nerve-wracking, because last year I didn’t really know what I was gonna do,” Kendall West, a sophomore who recently switched to become a kinesiology major, said. “I feel a little more calm at the same time, just because I know what to expect. Last year I was like, ‘oh my god, I have to be there 30 minutes early,’.”
Classes have been going well, however, and the professors have been nice, she said.
“I like being back in the flow of things, seeing like all of my friends,” Emma Soderstrom, junior political science major, said. “It feels like I am back home. I’m ready to start classes and kind of get that burst of energy.”
It is also a little weird to see campus active again, Jalen Hang, junior kinesiology major, said.
“There’s a lot of people on campus, but I have an 8 a.m. which was a little tough,” Hang said.
When it comes to giving advice to freshmen for their first year at WSU, Grace Martin, junior political science major on a pre-law track, said her biggest advice she can give freshmen when it comes to classes is to simply go to class.
“Go to class, pay attention, read the syllabus and try your best,” Martin said.
West’s advice is to make friends in class.
“The ones in your classes now that you don’t think will be in your classes in the future, they probably will be,” she said.
This comes in handy down the line as well when it comes to group projects and trying to find partners. Hang also suggests freshmen to talk with other students.
“I think, like, actually, just walking up and talking to people. I had a hard time, like, talking people in my classes and it kind of backfired, because there was no one to talk to during class, or, like, make friends with in my major until now,” she said.
However, it is not as nerve wracking now, Hang said. Compared to her freshman year, Hang feels like she has grown up a lot.
“I joined a lot of different organizations. So, I’m really glad I put myself out there, but I think just taking the bigger step and talking to people I didn’t know, I was a little scared of,” she said. “A small conversation goes a long way.”
