It’s a Learning Experience: The College Orientation Plan

The College Orientation Plan! You may be confused by what I mean by a “plan.” Well, I happen to know that you spent your whole summer searching college vlogs on YouTube  because you’re so anxious about getting there, or is that just me…

And in those college vlogs you see an array of different people either posting their experiences or giving advice. Now, experiences are different for everyone so you can’t trust those, but they must be giving first hand advice because they’re living it, right?  If you’re watching a shy Youtuber, the advice will go along the lines of “Stay in your dorms at all cost, college kids are crazy.” Or if you’re watching someone who’s very outgoing, “Go to every party because:

The purpose of this post is to give you the truth on if all these college videos are advising us well. Practically, I’ve watched enough videos for the both of us to know what they all say move-in day is like and how to handle it/ make friends. But how will I be able to prove if we should take their advice? By LIVING THEM! I’m gonna devise a 5-day plan(for my 5-day long orientation) and treat it like a research experiment to test out this advice, and each day I’ll post about if it works out. I am your spy on the inside 🙂  It’ll be fun for me, and I can only go through this once so why not make my experience a learning experience?

I believe it’s safe to say that I’m not a VERY social person, and I’m not that extroverted. But if there’s one thing I know, it’s how to be nice. That sounds lame but it’s true. Anyone can be nice.

• DAY 1:

You’re excited, but also on the verge of puking. Idk if that’s good or not. On move-in day, you’re packed and on your way to college. Your parents are going to give you advice and tell you about their experiences. DON’T LISTEN TO THEM! Things have changed since they went to college! I’m only joking, slightly… While arriving, make sure to stay calm because this process could potentially be the worst thing ever: long lines, check-ins, your “Did I forget anything” instinct starts to kick in.

You have to introduce yourself to everyone in the dorm to get a feel for the mood- are people anxious and friendly, or not? Soon enough, when everyone’s anxious walls gets knocked down, you’re gonna see their real sides which in some cases will make you wanna put the wall back up. Take into account that my experiences, however they will go, will be slightly different to yours based on the type of people at your school, the type of school it is, and a factor that we never like to address, the type of person you are. If you hear that you come across as mean, or stuck-up, you may wanna ask someone you care about what their first impressions of you were, because you can trust them to be honest.

Many Youtubers tell me to leave my dorm door open so people can come in to introduce themselves. I wouldn’t be too trusting. I don’t know any of these people and the last thing I want is for me to get Sneak-attacked in an effort to make new friends.

You should introduce yourself to your roommate and get to know them a little more. After you successfully got everything in your dorm, and your parents leave, invite them to go to orientation with you. 2 birds/1 stone: You’re bonding with your roommate while meeting new potential friends, partners… enemies. While conversing make sure you ask questions that don’t revolve around where they’re from, their majors, and world domination, because I’m sure they’ve all been asked those exact questions many times today. So I’ll probably have to memorize some- yeah, I’m not a good extrovert but who cares?

• DAY 2:

So it’s your first night in college, with your roommate. Do they snore loud? Did they vacuum the floor at 2 am? These are vital signs that indicate you need a new roommate. But if not, more bonding time. Ask them about their life, hobbies, and other random things. Are they early-risers or night-owls?

Get breakfast together. If they’re an extrovert, go meet new people with them. If introverted, force them to meet people with a steady pep that goes along the lines of “yolo”(twice in one post, that’s a crime). It’s time to explore the dorms. Where are the stairs? What elevator is the best or most likely won’t break? Are there vending machines accessible at any time…. it’s like looking at your Freshman 15 in a mechanical box…

Do your neighboring roommates like to vacuum at 2 am? A BIG issue. Talk to them because you will be seeing a lot of them, sometimes more of them then you probably should #CommunalBathroomProblems.

All the YouTubers say that you want to be friends with your roommate. Discuss beforehand the relationship you guys want or don’t want to have when you get your roommate assignment. If you guys established that yal just want to coexist awkwardly in the prison cells called dorms then fine. But it makes it harder for someone to slip up and do something wrong.

Scenario 1:

Friend 1– Yeah?

Friend 2– Did you clean the bathroom?

Friend 1– No sorry I’ll get on it now.

**Friends are more considerate because they care for each other.

Scenario 2:

Coexisting Roommate 1– Yeah?

Coexisting Roommate 2– Did you clean the bathroom?

Coexisting Roommate 1– No sorry I’ll get on it now.

Coexisting Roommate 2– OMG YOU ALWAYS DO THIS EVERY TIME I CAN’T STAND DORMS BLAH BLAH *bad girls club fight.*  You don’t want that.

• DAY 3:

Time to do some roaming around the common areas. Like where’s the library/ gym/ food places? How long does it take to walk there (drive if you’re #blessed)? And do this with your roommate. It’s a bonding thing and you’re NOT getting food. Who says you have to eat EVERY TIME you hang with people? If you see a group of freshman- kids w/ lanyards that aren’t wearing leggings or sweatpants yet- then join them! I’ll tell you whether or not that works out for me but it seems bullet proof, don’t you think? There are events to go to. Go to them.

• DAY 4:

There’s usually serious stuff that comes around the 4th day: Changing schedules, meeting you advisers. That, you may wanna  do alone, but meet the people you see on the way back. Never miss an opportunity to make friends.

Walk to your class buildings with your roommate. If they do it for you then you do it for them. Ask them about their futures and what they wanna do after college. But if  they don’t know then that’s fine, they have TIME.

• DAY 5:

By now you got the gist of who your roommate is. Are they nice? Clean? Have they already stolen things? Anything above that you aren’t OK with need to go straight to  your roommate to talk about, while the problems are still little… But if she gossips, then she needs to go… back to High School because  that’s over with: If you have so little to do where talking about people gives you joy then you gotta find a hobby… May I recommend cliff diving?*hehe*

College is supposedly the best years of your life, but if you’re doing life right, it should get better and better.