After working hard to get into your dream school, it can feel surreal to see yourself take on college life. Orientation and the first few weeks at UT are filled with welcome events, burnt orange spirit and thousands of new faces. While the rush of new experiences can be exciting, it can also be overwhelming.
As a first-generation student, there were many points at the beginning of my college career where I doubted if I could find my footing in such a daunting setting. Everyone else seemed to be speeding through their transitions into Longhorn life, while I felt miles behind. The truth is that everyone faces challenges and uncertainty, and it’s important to normalize this struggle.
“Everybody is going to go through (the transition) and probably in different ways,” said Desiree Alva, director of student programming and assessment at New Student Services. “Some people are going to keep it bottled in, some people are going to be able to kind of say it out loud, and the more you’re able just to talk about it and communicate, (that) makes it so much better.”
In Alva’s experience mentoring new students, she realized common concerns ranged from academic and social life to “adulting.”
“It’s the increase in academic rigor and expectations. The class sizes always kind of throw my students off if they’re coming from a small town, (and) the classes operate at a higher level than students are used to. They have to get used to this new teaching style and assignments,” Alva said.
Like any big life change, college takes getting used to. It’s important for new students to remain optimistic and not exasperate problems by giving up or isolating themselves from the resources they need. By joining organizations and participating in campus events, new students can connect with others who are experiencing similar insecurities.
“The biggest (time) when I started to find my community, or where I was around people that I felt really comfortable around, was when I joined a council in my dorm,” said Katres Ayah, a clinical nutrition, public health and human ecology senior. “I lived in a dorm my first year, just like most students, and we had our residence hall council, and through that, I was able to meet like-minded people.”
At the same time, students can do everything right: put themselves out there, get involved and seek out help from campus resources, but they might still feel out of place. That’s OK too.
“It definitely took a good two years,” Ayah said. “I don’t think it was until last year that I was like, ‘Okay, you know what? This year I’m actually fully committed to finishing out my degree here.’”
The reassuring advice that I was given in my first year at UT was to “remember that you are here for a reason.” Attending a top public university is a huge privilege and it’s not given at random. Every student on the Forty Acres proved that they deserve to be here, and every student will still struggle and question that truth at least once during their college journey.
Alva said that the biggest mistake freshmen make on this journey is not asking for help when they need it.
“As humans, I think we just have that kind of nervousness about asking the wrong question, or looking silly, or not asking for help,” Alva said. “That’s one of the biggest hurdles because the help is here. You just have to lean into it.”
Change is hard, and it can be easy to become discouraged when you feel you don’t fit in. However, by hanging in there and leaning into the help available from campus resources, mentors and peers, new students can successfully transition into college and thrive in the years to come.
Jackson is a Plan II and journalism junior from Boerne, Texas.
