1) Everyone else is also Awkward
So, you’re a new student at Orientation and you don’t know anyone. Guess what? SO IS EVERYONE ELSE. Especially during Orientation and the first few weeks of class, everyone is trying to make friends. Introduce yourself to people. Go to events. Meet people! Don’t worry what people will think and don’t be shy. No one is going to remember that you went to that one party during O-week by yourself, they are going to remember that you came up and said hi and now you’re all bffs. Take advantage of the awesome energy of O-week to go out of your comfort zone a bit.
2) Plan your Schedule
Remember that your schedule Freshman year will affect your schedule senior year. When you’re planning your classes, make sure to think of them on a 4-year scale and not just what you feel like taking at the moment. You certainly want to enjoy your classes, but remember that you have to take science sometime, and you will probably not be happy if it’s during your last year. Keep options open, take intro classes, and get to know different departments. Reed is a liberal arts school after all.
3) Be Proactive
Reed wants you to do cool things. If you have a plan, someone around here will help you do it. Seriously, come up with a project, event, internship, club, whatever, that you want to do and there will be people to help you make it happen. Get to know SEEDS, Student Activities, the Student Union staff, Finance Committee (and your student government in general!) and familiarize yourself with all the clubs and student groups on campus. Make plans, do stuff.
