Dear newbie, Starting as a new student is fun, exciting and stressful. Your tutors are there to help you get started and make sense of course sign-ups, UniCafe and the campus with its buildings. The evenings (and nights) of the orientation week are busy with activity meant for breaking the ice. However, amidst the swirl of all things new and shiny there’s a but.
Let’s face it, not all us are extroverted and ready to jump into the action with strangers at the drop of a hat. I know this because I only attended a game night and attempted to join Amazing Race and left my team after barely an hour. It was not due to lack of excitement or wanting to make friends. It simply wasn’t for me. Performing silly tasks between (possibly) witty banter wasn’t something I could do without feeling indescribably awkward. So I passed. I skipped a lot of parties at first, too.
I dealt with this reserved stance by stubbornly gluing myself onto someone who has since then become one of my best friends. She can be pretty shy, too. Choosing to befriend only a couple of people in the beginning meant that when I finally started to take part in SUB’s activities, I didn’t really know anyone else. Luckily SUB is a very welcoming student organization and it was easy once my armor fell off. I began exploring the opportunities of SUB with this webzine and I haven’t looked back. It looks like I am one of the people organizing this big and classy party in the spring.
Clearly, arriving late doesn’t mean you can’t catch up.
Yours,
Kristiina