October of my freshman year:
Only five minutes after I met him, a sophomore on my floor leaned familiarly toward me, his lanky body balanced on the chair's armrest in Wolman lounge. A self-satisfied smirk bared his teeth and I groaned inwardly as I sensed what was coming.
He crossed his arms with blatant self-satisfaction -- to emphasize his authority, I guessed as I watched him. And then it came ...
"You know, when I was a freshman, I wish I had known ..." and the undesired advice dribbled from his mouth as if he were a drooling baby.
I don't remember a word he said -- as soon as I heard his introduction, the sound was muted from my consciousness. I simply watched his thin lips open and shut like a fish, marveling that he actually imagined that one year made him all that more experienced.
Well, I was wrong.
Now that I'm the worldly sophomore, I know firsthand how dynamic freshman year can be. My values overturned and my beliefs questioned, I think I develop into a more mature, self-sufficient person. Yes, I learned a lot my freshman year, much more than American politics or statistics. But had I listened to the advice of the upperclassmen, perhaps I wouldn't have had to experience so much firsthand. So now I'm going to spill my advice, whether you're interested or not -- keep reading.
For my first tip, let me make it simple: You are a freshman at Hopkins. Not College Park. Not UMBC. Not University of Louisiana. Hopkins is not like other schools. Here, many students forget to have fun.
My tip? Don't become one of them! For every opportunity that arises to hang out with friends, ditch the work and have fun. You don't need a stellar GPA -- in fact, sometimes you learn more from social interaction than a book ever could teach you.
A year from now, you won't fondly recall the nights you were closeted in level D at the library (unless you were throwing wads of paper across the table at your friends) -- you will remember outings to the grocery store, aimless wanderings in the Inner Harbor and movies at Towson. Sigh.
Another tip: A good friend always distracts a friend from work.
But how do you know if you are studying too much? I use two methods: I realize my life has approached a pathetic state if 1) I am part of the mass exodus from the library to the Hut (open 24 hours) at the library's closing time of 2 a.m. or 2) I have spent more than two consecutive Friday or Saturday nights closeted in the library.
But there's one simple way to avoid the common Hopkins disease of overstudying: don't be pre-med! I can't emphasize it more. If you want any sort of life, you must avoid this end at all costs.
But whether you're pre-med or a sociology major, it's of key importance not to shut yourself in your room. I don't care if you're studying or playing computer games (which, boys, the girls find very unattractive). Even if you don't consider yourself social -- which was myself a year ago -- push yourself out to meet people, especially in the first week! In the beginning, most freshmen are open to new friendships since everyone is flung alone into an unfamiliar setting. But after a few weeks, cliques set into place and it becomes difficult to meet people without a common acquaintance. So go to every Orientation event offered, because you never know where you will find your friends.
While you'll forge strong friendships during your freshman year, don't lose contact with your friends from home. Summer may seem an eon away, but that's only an illusion since it creeps up on you without notice and flings you back home into your old environment. Unless you enjoy solitary meditation, you'll need your old friends to wile away the time.
Now, for the academics:
* Don't expect much from professors and even less from TAs (teaching assistants). Professors care more about their research than their undergraduate students, though there can be exceptions. Too often I have taken classes that taught me nothing. As for TAs -- well, need I say more?
* Grades are total b.s., at least in the non-sciences. Two different TAs could read the same paper and allot two completely different grades.
* Don't sign up for classes merely because they sound interesting in the catalogue. Always talk to upperclassmen about their experiences in the class. A bad professor can mutate an interesting subject into torture. As an aspiring writer, I signed up for Introduction to Fiction and Poetry Writing and I have never loathed a class so passionately.
* Don't get involved in too many extracurricular activities if you want to maintain your sanity D though I do recommend writing for the news section of The News-Letter. E-mail me at jvaldez2@jhem.jhu.edu for more information.
One last tidbit of advice: be careful crossing Charles St. from Wolman -- that is, if you want to survive your freshman year intact.
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