Posted by Josh G.
It’s all over! Freshman year is done and so I thought I’d provide some perspective to all of you about to embark on the same journey.
Last year at this time, I was full of mixed emotions. You can see some of how I passed the time by reading my blog entry that was one of four chosen in a
contest run by Hopkins Interactive last summer. (Strangely enough, 3 of the 4 winners of the contest are also on Hopkins Interactive and from NJ – Lauren and Jessica are the others.)
But anyway…I was feeling anxious and excited to move on to college, but I was sad to leave high school. Not that I particularly enjoyed high school so much that I didn’t want to get out, but more that it was a huge step of my life that was over. Its just that feeling that comes over you after you look forward to something for so long and then it’s finally over. It all happened too quickly. 
I remember sitting around watching the lacrosse final four games realizing that next year I’d actually be attending the school I was so adamantly rooting for.
The entire summer was a huge build up to go away to college. The last few weeks were filled with goodbyes (or “see you laters” as I liked to call them since we’d all be back in a few months). Everyone’s experience is a little different, but it’s mostly the same. I think it’s one of the most incredible times.
And then you finally get to Hopkins. I was going to get sentimental and walk you through my year, but I’ve decided to turn it into a sort of Survival Guide on how to get the most out of Freshman year.
Step 1: Orientation. Participate in as much as you can and be open to everything. You will meet so many amazing people.
Step 2: Get used to it. You must learn to deal with being away from home, taking on lots of new responsibilities (everything from grocery shopping to dealing with the cable company to taking care of yourself when you are sick), getting used to the workload and how to manage your time, and learning how to live with other people. It’s a lot of new freedom and responsibility that is much needed after so many years of being at home. 
Step 3: Explore. After you establish a group of friends and explore, you will
begin to feel more comfortable and want to explore Baltimore…more. Make sure to a) stay out of bad neighborhoods at night and b) find all the cool places in Charm City.
Step 4: Participate. Get involved in stuff on campus. And no, this isn’t like high school where you get involved in 50 different groups to put on a resume or application. Do stuff you actually enjoy. There are so many things I wanted to and did get involved with. Make sure you have enough time to do the things you commit to, and try new things. 
Go to the first few meetings of a club to see if you are interested. You can always drop out if it’s not for you, but you still get to
meet people and find out more about what you like and don’t. And if you like blogging and feeling smarter than people by answering their questions, try applying for admissions groups like SAAB or Blue Key…or both.
Step 5: Work hard. Yes Hopkins is hard. But if you learn how to manage your time, it gets easier. I never thought I’d be able to do it, but I did. I even made Dean’s List second semester. It’s ok to bitch a little about it, but don’t complain too much or people will start to get annoyed. Especially if you complain about getting an A- instead of an A on something.
Step 6: Enjoy. Don’t get too caught up in things. The days go by slowly, but the weeks go by so quickly. Make sure to take it all in and enjoy every minute of it.
Freshman year is an exciting time. It was one of the best year’s I’ve ever had and I’m sad that it’s over. I’m hoping it just gets better from here, but
another stage of my life is over. Hopefully you all can feel these mixed emotions a year from now. I can’t wait to go back.
On that note, here is a little music video I made of some brief footage I took the last few days of school and when I got home. I was going to make it into something longer, but I just got caught up in moving out so this is the best I could do. Hope you enjoy! (and if you can play it in high quality on YouTube go for it because it was shot in HD and looks amazing)
Great advice ... and I love the video. You must be a Film and Media major.
Posted by: Admissions_Daniel | June 08, 2008 at 08:29 AM