Orientation

Back on June 21-22 in the distant past, I experienced my first ever college orientation.  Now I know that you kids are going to be experiencing your very own in the next couple of days and I want to eliminate all your fears right now.  Summer O was a ton of fun and you guys have nothing to worry about.  I know how you both are feeling- worried about making a good first impression, nervous about meeting new people, and scared about picking the right classes to take in the fall.  I felt the exact same way and my biggest fear was that I was going to embarrass myself from the get go and that no one would want to talk to me.  Man, was I wrong though.  Everyone at the FU orientation was extremely welcoming including my new classmates.  I did, of course, end up embarrassing myself at the very beginning, but to my surprise, that just made me easier to talk to.  During lunch, I sat down at a table with complete strangers and looked around at all the faces of the people that were going to be my classmates for the upcoming year.  I wanted to make a good first impression and in my hurry to introduce myself, I knocked over a full glass of water which ended up in my lap.  I was so embarrassed and when I realized how ridiculous I looked, I started laughing.  Soon the entire table had joined me and that definitely broke the ice.  So my advice to you is to be yourself and don't be afraid to embarrass yourself because as long as you can laugh at yourself, then other people will be more comfortable around you and will feel less self-conscious about themselves.  The orientation staff and the incoming freshmen were so welcoming and after leaving Furman, I couldn't wait until O Week in the Fall.  Just remember that everyone at orientation is in the same boat- they are all pretty much surrounded by strangers and they want to make friends.  Knowing that, makes orientation less intimidating and more fun.  Of course, you have to sit through all of the meetings that are necessary for the school to go through and I know those may be boring, but they are important and if you can just get through those meetings, then you can get to the fun part- meeting new people.  Orientation was a lot of fun and it was a step on my way to fully becoming a Paladin.  I couldn't have been happier.