How to avoid looking like a freshman at WFU
Honest advice from an upperclassman
Welcome to freshman year, a fun yet unfamiliar and slightly terrifying time. Everyone has been there at some point, so here’s some honest advice from an experienced upperclassman to help get you through your first year.
After you read this, you probably won’t even feel like a freshman anymore.
Avoid wearing a lanyard
I’m serious with this one, because when you look back on it, you’ll think, “why in the world did I ever do that?” It’s like walking around with a collar on, except it’s worse since your picture is on it, too. As if we couldn’t already see your face. Solution: if you want, you can still use the lanyard, just keep it in your backpack. Enough said.
Clean your room more often than you think you should
Honestly, some rooms became dumps after the first few weeks. You don’t want to be that person, so vacuum, wipe down door handles, counters and sinks (if you have one) and take your trash out regularly. It just starts to smell, look and feel gross if you don’t do these things.
This was my freshman dorm on move-in day last year. It never looked this nice again because, well, college, so it doesn’t hurt to clean even when you don’t feel like it.
If you wear Converse when you go out, wear gray or white
First, if sorority girls see you wearing their color of Converse – including blue, light blue, navy, red, black, green and pink – they may or may not give you weird looks. It’s just a sorority tradition at Wake, and traditions (both official and unofficial) run deep at our school.
Second, just don’t wear sandals. You will really regret it after basement sludge is in between your toes. Finally, wear cute clothes and shoes (or not, you do you), but make sure they’re clothes and shoes you don’t really care about because there’s a chance they could get ruined.
The outfits are cute and so are we (duh), but as you can see, we were such freshmen.
Go to office hours at least once for every professor you have, even if you think you’re an expert
College can be harder than high school, and everyone who goes to Wake Forest is smart enough to go here. Try your hardest, and if you don’t succeed at first, just keep at it. Also, office hours are important because your professors will be able to get to know YOU. If professors know you for more than your grade in their classes, they are amazing resources for writing letters of recommendation for graduate school, studying abroad or any other program. Also, if you go and explain yourself after a bad exam, this shows them you care, you studied and you just do not understand.
DO NOT OVEREAT at the Pit or anywhere
I learned this one the hard way after gaining almost 15 pounds during my first year. My family noticed, and that’s when I knew it was real. It felt like a slap in the face, which sucked, so just eat like you would have at home or healthier. I know this is hard to do when you have the dessert table right where you drop off dishes – everyone caves. Late night Subway/ POD always happens, too, so just watch that. This way, you won’t succumb to the freshman 15 and then have to crawl back from it.
Pitsgiving is great, but looking back on it now, I went *a little* overboard. Clearly, I planned on eating more.
Here’s the result of the last picture: going ham on the dessert table, too.
You can try to remember names as best you can, but everyone fails at first
I cannot even tell you how many people I met during Orientation and the first week of classes. So many times people said their names, we talked and halfway through the conversation, I had already forgotten their names. It happens to everyone, so just be patient and ask again.
Go off campus to see Winston-Salem – you’ll need it
The restaurants and coffee shops are INCREDIBLE, the Reynolda House and the Graylyn are beautiful pieces of history, and the neighborhood surrounding campus is great for runs and walks. Wake Forest can feel like a bubble, so go see new things and your brain will thank you for it. Otherwise, you might go insane from a lack of change in scenery.
Also, downtown has super cool places to hang out.
Time is your best friend and your worst enemy
Study a lot, go out with your friends and get sleep – just make sure you make time for it all and set your priorities.
You can and will stay at ZSR later than this at some point, trust me.
Be yourself, not someone else
This is the key to finding your niche at Wake Forest. It seems way easier to be super outgoing, but if that isn’t you, don’t push it. Be open to meeting people from all walks of life, and you will eventually end up meeting people you can trust and who hold the same values as you if you are yourself.
I know, it is easier said than done. In fact, it still holds true for upperclassmen. You constantly meet new people, so let them know YOU right off the bat.