For an incoming student, college may seem like a behemoth of possibility and opportunity to grow through your interests and meet new people from all over the U.S. Becoming a LinkedIn warrior and collecting leadership positions is another mindset that you may have. When entering college, it’s easy to overlook the little things in the face of all those grand ambitions. For incoming SIS students, one person’s academic career can look vastly different from another’s because SIS allows us to choose the area of international studies that we’d like to concentrate in. In a way, we can customize our path of study within our own major. There are ways you can be guided through your time at AU while having your own unique experience here.

Radical change? In some ways, yes; others, no.

The transition from high school to college feels like a large leap into a new era. There’s a thrill that comes from imagining a ‘brand new you,’ with a bigger social circle or attending events every week and going out into the city often. For some, that is what college life is. I tend to be sorted into the ‘I have a ton of cozy and creative hobbies to do and never enough time to sit down and do them’ group. Regardless, while envisioning a new you is nice, it’s important to remember that starting out at college doesn’t mean that the version of you with the problems you wish to leave behind in high school automatically goes away.

Homesickness and figuring out what your role is in a new environment while trying to create a new circle of friends are complex, difficult, and ongoing experiences that are unique to each incoming college student. There is no one right or wrong way to go through the process, and a lot of it has to do with timing, luck, presented opportunities, and some courage.

Is it worth being courageous—putting yourself out there and finding new opportunities? Most definitely! In terms of studies, ways to achieve this can involve expanding your academic horizon by taking interesting electives and stopping by club meetings for student organizations related to areas of study or art forms outside of your major. Networking doesn’t hurt either, as long as you know that you’re exploring things that are valuable to you. Another more personal way is to start that passion project you’ve been thinking about or put your art form out there!

Learning how to study

Finding fun, creative ways to be productive can help a lot when adjusting to a new schedule and establishing a new routine in college. I keep a to-do list and calendar and update them immediately when I have a new task on my radar. There are some days when the list of things to do feels like a list of things-I'd-rather-not-do. When that happens, it helps to encourage myself to start the most intimidating thing first and prioritize things with the earliest deadline. Over the weekends, I make the most of my free time by looking ahead at what homework I have due for the upcoming week and whether there are any tests or exams that I need to make flashcards and practice questions for (it’s usually best two weeks ahead of time!). Starting bigger assignments or assignments with later deadlines helps to make a little progress each day while ensuring that you have time to ask your professor questions about them, receive feedback, and revise your work. I highly recommend this strategy when studying for midterms or finals and when writing essays. For essays specifically, it can be easier if you have a roadmap or outline for what parts you want to get done, and by when (setting mini deadlines for yourself).

Where you study is also a part of how you study. Switching between spots on campus that have the study environment that best suits your style changes how you view thinking in relation to your physical surroundings. During finals week, it’s essential for you to be in a quiet, calm, distraction-free environment where you can begin reviewing notes and material with a clear head and less stress (“everything is going to be fine!”). Booking a room in the library with friends during your best studying hours is a great idea. It also acts as a unifying, productive way to bond with them. I recommend bringing dry erase markers or borrowing some from the front desk to take a break from the laptop and write out what you remember as a form of active recall.

Self-care while caring about global issues

Pursuing a degree in international studies involves reading about humanitarian issues across the world, internalizing their impact, and trying to use the analysis of what makes an issue to find what makes a solution. There is emotional labor involved in identifying issues, understanding them, and trying to reason through what action can ethically be taken to address them. The heaviness of such work is what makes it so necessary, so meaningful, and so difficult. Research involves more than reading scholarly literature; it is about applying a lens and finding ways to connect ideas with the intention of bringing something new to the table.

Being a college student can generally be exhausting, especially as an SIS student; don’t overlook how much empathy and emotional investment comes with pursuing this degree! While managing your course load and being involved on campus, it’s important to save time to relax and invest energy into hobbies or going to events other than assignments and class.

Doing a quick search through Engage and making it a goal to go to at least two events each week (schedule and energy level permitting) is a healthy routine that can keep you involved and help you relax or meet new people. During the heavy weeks leading up to midterms and finals, spending time with friends can seem impossible. Planning to do homework and study in the same room as them can help, even if you’re passively in each other’s company.

Sometimes it may feel like there isn’t time to “schedule” breaks, but a few minutes of stepping away from the work can refresh your mind (and I don’t mean doomscrolling on your phone!). Going on a walk, doing a bit of an analog hobby, talking to friends, or reading a book for fun can all act as little breaks that help you reclaim a sense of relaxation.

How to stay sane during the dreary winter months

Sometimes, you will feel like a creature braving the cold while scavenging for food and searching for warmth on campus. And that’s okay. I have advice for that too.

Our campus is a gorgeous arboretum in the fall and spring periods of DC’s weather calendar, which can be split into summer-fall, real fall, winter, extended winter, fall-spring, real spring, summer, and deathly hot summer. To keep the college student life lively and maintain energy during the winter months, there are some things that I wish I knew to keep in mind more at the start of the year.

Having a warm, indoor study spot can provide a form of sanctuary and act as a study location option other than your dorm. The Dav and the Bridge are great places for that, as well as the second and third floors of MGSC. DC may not get as much snow as other places, but when the snowstorm hit in January, the school was closed for a few days. That time period allowed me to have a cozy winter arc with my friends before the semester became busier. During the winter and throughout the year, spending time with friends can be a meaningful way to make memories in college and stay sane when it’s cold out.

Finding your form of community can also be achieved in different facets of the college experience:

• Shared interests: fun or creative clubs.
• Proximity: floormates.
• Academics: class and academic clubs.
• By chance: strike up conversations at events.

Most importantly, community is about keeping bonds with people, not just making connections. The most important people in life provide support and good company in such a way that you can grow and change as a person and still feel understood. Don’t take that for granted—keep in touch with your close friends from high school and make the effort and space in your schedule to call at least once or twice a month!

Using your resources

Receiving support while at AU also involves using campus resources. While emailing professors your questions can get you answers, going to their office hours opens the door to a conversation. A human connection where they can get to know your interests and learning style is valuable for helping you grow through your experience in their course. It’s important to do this for all classes you’re interested in, not just the “main” ones that give you graduation credit. Connecting with your professors for elective courses can help you visualize what it could be like to pursue an interest outside of your major by hearing about their career and getting advice on how to continue to be involved in that area of study. It can also lead to a minor or double major down the line.

The Writing Center is another valuable resource that I wish I used more regularly. This year I’ve learned how to adjust to different types of academic writing, while writing journalistic pieces and continuing to improve my creative writing. Going to the Writing Center at the start of the year would have helped me figure out better strategies to improve the clarity and organization in my writing while switching between research papers, essays, and personal reflections. Last semester, I took Advanced Spanish 1 and tried to find ways to practice producing the language in real life scenarios outside of class. Having weekly sessions with a Spanish tutor at the Center for Language Exploration, Acquisition, and Research (CLEAR) genuinely boosted my confidence to use my skills in conversation and helped me become more fluent. As an SIS student, seeking opportunities to practice the language I was learning helped me improve with application, translating and remembering vocab in real time, and understanding nuances in word choice when communicating with someone. A central part of my goals as an SIS student is to make connections with others and to understand other cultures. Effective academic writing and fluency in foreign languages are skills that will carry you a long way in international studies and I recommend finding opportunities to apply them as much as possible, to gain experience and feedback as a learning and growing student.

College, of course, involves planning ahead, not just completing assignments as they come. Having an existential crisis about the future doesn’t always fit your schedule, but it happens anyway amidst all the tasks you must do for the week. The SIS Career Advising Team is committed to equipping students to get through these crises by offering helpful resources like résumé building and connecting students to valuable internship opportunities. The resources are there, but you have to take the initiative to actually use them by scheduling a Writing Center appointment or stopping by the Career Center. Balance and time management are part of the college experience too, so stay proactive and plan ahead!

Final thoughts: already at the end of year one

It’s not easy, but each day builds off the previous one. I regained the energy I put into the presentation that I was freaking out about last month for the presentation I was freaking out about last week. And in the end, I keep putting my own voice into my assignments and learning. This constant evolution and growth is like a slow line of dominos falling, each one knocking into the next, building the little castle we’re envisioning to rule once we graduate.

The advice I shared here is all things I learned throughout my first year, intended as little reminders for when you have existential crises about whether you forgot how to socialize, or be yourself, or who you are and who you want to be. A repetitive and reassuring phrase (repetitive because I have presented the people close to me with the same lines of overthinking throughout this year) that I’ll leave you with is: Everything turns out okay in the end. It sounds ominous, and I would be skeptical too. But the magic is that while it’s reassuring, the uncertainty is what keeps you trying—and then, with that bravery, everything turns out okay.