Hey friends!
I hope the start of the semester went for all of you! I remember my first year at UMass Lowell like it was yesterday. There was so much to do for the first month with events, clubs and exploring the university. I learned a lot within my first year and I would like to share it with all of you.
Trying new things
This is a new experience for you. Think of it like a game board. You get decide the next move you get to make, whether its rolling a die, picking up a card or starting a timer. Each decision you make adds on to your time here at UMass Lowell. Please, don’t be scared to try something you have not done before. Try going to an event, a club or activity hosted on campus. Who knows? It may end up being something you’ll end up loving!
Meeting new people
UMass Lowell is a large population of college students. You can meet people by just walking to class or sitting next to someone on the shuttle. Never be afraid to say hello and introduce yourself. A simple conversation one day could make a friendship for life. It’s true what people say about the friends you make in college are the friends you make for life!
Never take on too much
It’s normal to want to be involved on-campus. You can join or participate with everything available to you on campus. It’s great! It’s one of many things I love about this university. However, if you do a lot, it can get overwhelming. I am guilty of doing this my first year. I loved being everywhere and taking part of anything offered. It got to the point where I needed to decide what exactly I loved to be involved in. As long as you can manage academics with everything you can do, you’ll be fine.
Time management
This is quite essential to have. It helps you keep organized when it comes to academics, clubs, activities and personal things. I tend to sit down in the beginning of the semester with my schedule and color code everything. Next, I look at my monthly schedule and put all my meetings in my calendar, then look at my week with assignments and when they are due. This is all color coded, too. The colors have no order of importance, its just my way of remembering things. If this works for you, this is something you can use! If not, you’ll have a good way of managing your time, too!
YOU Time
Taking time to yourself is NOT a bad thing. Never feel guilty of staying in one night to spend time to yourself. I am quite guilty of not taking time to myself and I’m always on the go. I started to make time to watch my favorite television shows and take a nap whenever I had an hour or two to myself. It’s a good way to relax and feel refreshed. Try not to run yourself on empty. It will catch up to you, so please try to take a day or two off to just kick back and relax!
I hope these tips were helpful! Hope you all have a good weekend!
Much love,
T
YOU Time