Happy holidays, happy new year, and I hope you’re all having a restful break. Most of campus is coming back from a lifestyle of waking up at 12 p.m., rotating between pajamas, coffee, and absolutely nothing, to suddenly cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and remembering how to function as a human again — and it’s only the first week of classes.
But for a few of you who just started your spring rotations (heyyy cuties), I just want to say: I’m really proud of you.
The first week of your co-op feels like it sets the tone for everything that comes after. You walk in excited, a little nervous, and riding that “new year, new me” energy. You swear this is the semester you’ll wake up early every day, maybe hit the gym before or after work, and still come home productive.
That is not what the first week is.
Sure, the first day or two are kind of fun. You’re getting onboarded, picking up your new work laptop, clicking around folders you don’t understand yet, and pretending you know what half the acronyms mean. You might even go home and poke around a little more, just to feel prepared.
Give it a week.
By then, you’re getting home too exhausted to even think about cooking dinner. That’s usually when it hits you — you have a little money now, and getting food on the way home suddenly feels very justified. You start off packing your lunches, telling yourself you’ll save money. You talk to everyone at first, or you keep your head down and observe — either way, you’re trying your hardest to figure out how you fit into this new environment.
After that first week or two, things start to click. You begin to understand how this co-op is actually going to go and what’s expected of you — not just to excel, but sometimes just to survive.
And if you’re reading this thinking, “That’s not how my co-op feels at all,” please know that’s okay too. Not every first week looks the same. Some people love it immediately. Some people feel completely lost. Some people feel fine on the outside and overwhelmed on the inside. If this doesn’t resonate with you at all, honestly — email me. I want to know. I want to hear what your experience has been like, because there is no single “right” way to start a co-op.
What no one really tells you is that the adjustment period is real. You’re not lazy for being tired. You’re not unmotivated for coming home and doing absolutely nothing. You’re learning a new routine, a new environment, and a new version of yourself all at once. That takes energy, even if the work itself doesn’t feel hard yet.
And here’s the part I wish someone had told me sooner: you’re allowed to fight for yourself. If something feels off, you’re allowed to ask questions. If you’re not learning what you hoped to learn, you’re allowed to speak up. If the experience isn’t what you expected, that doesn’t mean you failed — it just means you’re paying attention.
You don’t have to love your co-op on day one. You don’t have to have it all figured out by week two. What matters is that you show up, you learn what you can, and you advocate for the experience you deserve.
You’ve got this. Even on days when it doesn’t feel like it.
