There’s too much to do in Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Philly; it’d be a shame to stay cooped up in your dorm room all day! I know it doesn’t always feel like there’s very much to do, what with us being stuck in the college bubble, so here are some sources I like to turn to to make my world feel a little bigger:
Be open
If I had one piece of advice to give my first-year self, it would be to be open to different things.
I came into college thinking I wanted to be an econ major. I took the intro course and it turned out not to be my cup of tea, which made me nervous, because I thought I had a clear plan of how I wanted to graduate from Bryn Mawr. I made a slight adjustment to my plan and decided to explore international studies, which involved some econ but not only econ. Then I took my intro to computer science to fulfill my scientific investigation requirement, and it clicked for me in a way that econ never did. The following semester, I took intro to linguistics on a whim, because it seemed like all my friends from my clubs were linguists and I wanted to see what all the rage was about. I saw what the rage was about. I’m now a computer science and linguistics double major. Who woulda thunk?
I wish that I did more exploring as a first-year and even as a sophomore, instead of locking myself on the path of an economist. I’m not gonna lie, scheduling courses throughout my junior year was quite stressful because the credits I had accumulated towards my supposed econ/international studies major didn’t really count for anything in the end as I was now a computer science and linguistics double major.
You’d think that being open to different paths would be an obvious choice to make, especially since we’re all here for the liberal arts education and have a more holistic outlook on life yadda yadda. But another thing we are are achievers. We have clear goals in mind. Which is an excellent strategy most of the time. But it can also blind us.
Your first year is definitely a year to explore. You have time. Use this time to figure out what you want, even if you think you already know what that is. You need to get those college-wide requirements out of the way anyway đ Who knows, you might find something better!
Now I’m at another crossroad. Once I decided I was a computer science and linguistics double major, I started looking for software engineer internships for the summer. Because that’s what you’re supposed to do as a computer science and linguistics double major, right? But I found this very difficult, and it wasn’t until recently that I discovered I was having so much difficulty finding a software engineering internship because I wasn’t interested in being a software engineer, despite being a computer science and linguistics double major.
Again, what I thought I wanted turned out not to be what I wanted. If I had taken the time to explore other options, I might have discovered what it was I did want.
So now as a senior, I’m challenging myself to intentionally look for non-software-engineer jobs that align with my interests and my skills. And I challenge you to try something new as well.
How I made my first friends at Bryn Mawr
When I was 10 years old, I made a big move from Los Angeles to Beijing. But as a kid, it didn’t feel like a big deal. As long as there was food to snack on and places to play, I was fine. It was easy to make friends. If someone shared their snack or shared a jump rope or played tag, then we were friends.
I then stayed at the same school for eight years, from 5th grade all the way to 12th. I was comfortable with my friends and knew everyone at our school. I hadn’t had to make friends in years. So you might understand why I was nervous about going to a new school (college!) and not knowing a single person.
As a senior, it’s crazy to think that I’ve only known the friends I made in college for three years. All the support we’ve had for each other and all the fun we’ve had together has felt like so much more!
If you’re a first-year, you might feel like having friendships like this is impossible. You might doubt that your friendships in college could amount to anything close to your awesome friendships from high school. Or maybe you’ve already heard so much about the life-changing friendships people have made in college, and you might begin to doubt yourself if you feel like you haven’t found that yet.
I admit that it took me awhile to find my place and my people. But I did find them, and I know that you can too. I thought it’d be fun to take it back to the beginning and share how I made my first friends at Bryn Mawr:
Planners for the school year
Bryn Mawr was so kind to slide academic planners into our mailboxes; if you haven’t checked yet, go grab yours! It has all the important information you’ll need for the school year, giving you space to jot down all your activities and assignments, and also providing helpful resources.
However, I’m a little picky when it comes to organising my planner. I currently use a blank gridded notebook with a simple black cover, and this system has worked very well for me. Nevertheless, I still have fun browsing online for pretty planners.
If you’re looking for a pretty/modern/fun planner, check out some of the ones I found below. They’re all either Aug/Sept 2017 – Dec 2018 planners, or undated planners, which are perfect for the school year!
Done is good!
My “done is good” blog post from Fall 2015 is still my favourite blog post to date, so I’m gonna give it a lil promo right here…
â !!! DONE IS GOOD !!! â
And here’s pt 2 of the series:
Cafes
This post is for all those coffee junkies like me. And also for anyone who’s having a hard time finding study space on campus! (Where did all these people come from?? And why are they taking MY spot in Lusty??? Yes, that spot that doesn’t have my name on it! Mine!)
Exams
I can’t believe we’re here and I’m writing a blog post called “exams.” It feels just like yesterday when I was writing a blog post called “shopping week.” It’s just kindaaaa scary.
But let’s not worry. Let’s celebrate! We’ve made it this far through the semester, we have May Day to look forward to, and then it’s all about showing off what we’ve learned!
Last week of classes!
I think we get scared to ask questions the further we get in the year. Because after a semester at college, we’re supposed to know everything now, right??? But my advice is, if you’re in a hole, don’t keep digging (I got this advice from some book I read). Do NOT be afraid to keep asking questions during this last week of classes. Professors want to help and want you to do well. Just make sure that you ask good questions (an underrated skill!) and not ask for answers.
Preregistration
Chill
Sometimes it’s exhausting trying to be positive all the time. Sometimes we need to allow ourselves to feel sad. Sometimes we need to allow ourselves to laugh. If that didn’t make sense to you, go watch Inside Out.
Anyways, I’m here with you today with some Tumblr humour: