O-Week Versus Reality
With classes underway and prelim season in full swing, it has become increasingly clear to me (as well as, I am sure, to my freshmen classmates) that the Cornell that I met during O-Week is not the Cornell that I have come to know. I am actively adjust a few weeks into the school year. That is not to say that one “version” is better than the other. While I sometimes long for the days when I could sleep in and then lazily make my way down to Novick’s café for a warm croissant without the stress of looming deadlines and piles of homework, I am glad that the long, draining days of O-Week are over. I have established a steady routine, I can finally find my way around campus without using Google Maps, and I know which dining hall serves the best french fries. O-Week represented an idealized version of what the college experience would be like, and I think it’s important to recognize this by contrasting it with the reality of everyday life at Cornell. Therefore, I will share with you a few things I wish I had known, but ultimately have come to learn, now that O-Week is in the not-so-distant past.
Being Social Will Not Be Your Only Priority
O-Week at Cornell, is all about meeting new people and making connections, as it is at most colleges. The idea of coming to a new place can be intimidating at first, as was the case for me, for I was thrown into a completely new environment among thousands of new faces; thus, O-Week was extremely draining. But after the first few days, it became much easier, and more natural, to ask the person across the hall from me to grab dinner or to gather people from my orientation group to the first Ithaca Farmers’ Market of the season. Initiating and partaking in social activities, such as the ones I previously described – no matter how insignificant they seemed – was what made O-Week so special; socializing seemed to be my only obligation. Yet, I soon came to realize, as O-Week came to end and classes were beginning, that I had many more responsibilities. The end of O-Week and the beginning of the academic year meant balancing my new and exciting social life with the expectations of my classes, potential clubs, with simply remembering to take care of myself both physically and mentally as I eased into the reality of living on my own. Of course, I know that it is important and necessary to make social plans a few times a week in order to balance out my hectic school schedule with some down time with friends, whether that means going out or simply hanging out in the dining hall. But, unlike during O-Week, it is simply not possible to go out and stay up until 2 a.m. each night while waking up for an 8 a.m. class the following morning; I’ve tried it, and it didn’t work out too well!
Time for A Nap Often Isn’t Possible
Not only have I come to realize that going out each and every night is simply not feasible, but one surprising reality that struck me once O-Week concluded and classes began was that a daily nap is not guaranteed! This may seem like a rather trivial realization, but personally, when I was not hanging out with new friends, exploring campus, or continuously making changes to my dorm room during O-Week, there was a 99% chance that I could be found dozing off in my bed in the middle of the afternoon. Perhaps this wasn’t a universal experience, but after multiple long nights out, I found myself struggling to keep my eyes open and needing to take a quick power-nap in order to make it through the rest of the day. Doing this was rather easy, as I had no other obligations – I could simply leave whatever I was doing, head back to my dorm room, and turn off the lights without a care in the world. But my daily naps during O-Week are now a relic of the past. Since the start of classes, I have not had the time to make the twenty-minute walk back to North Campus in between classes and meetings to take a short rest. So, while during O-Week I could expect to take as many naps as I liked whenever I pleased, there is just not enough time and flexibility in my schedule for me to make up for lost sleep, despite the fact that I am overall more tired than I was during O-Week!
Classes Are Harder Than I Thought They Would Be
One thing that I always looked forward to about the start of school was picking out my books and school supplies. The Saturday before classes began, my friends and I headed over to the Cornell Bookstore to pick up our textbooks and buy all the necessary notebooks, binders, and folders for our upcoming classes. While this was the only remotely academically-related task that had to get done prior to the start of classes, once O-Week was over, the reality of being a student at Cornell set in rather quickly. Classes at Cornell are challenging and rigorous; therefore, they are much more than the list of assignments bulleted in the cute planner I picked up at the bookstore during the excitement of O-Week. This might seem obvious, but for me, the process of coming to the full realization that I am now a college student with adult responsibilities and expectations, and not just what felt like a kid at summer camp during the fleeting week of orientation, wasn’t an easy one. It’s important to recognize that the transition from the fun, stress-free nature of O-Week to the start of classes, in which one is challenged to work hard and think deeply, is not a walk in the park. It has taken me some time to get used to my classes and my new academic environment, but I think I’m finally finding my rhythm.
Some elements of O-Week have persisted even though classes have started, such as the constant declaration of what college I am in, my major, my hometown, and what dorm I live in to every new person I meet. However, the majority of what makes O-Week great – the never-ending socializing without the stresses of early morning classes and due dates, the ability to simply relax in bed during the middle of the day, and the blissful obliviousness of the rigor and expectations that classes will bring – isn’t everlasting. I’m grateful that during O-Week I got the chance to go with the flow, try new things, and seek out connections, but now, I have the exciting chance to live the reality of a Cornell student. Even with the heavy workload and the stress of prelims, it’s a pretty good life!
