Freshman life has absolutely exceeded my already high expectations. Before coming to Stevens, I was ecstatic at the thought of being free from a mundane and forced high school schedule. Also, everybody in high school was so cliquey, what’s up with that?? But being a freshman, surrounded by other freshmen, who are just as lost as you really crafts some beautiful friendships. I signed up for the pre-orientation activities which was definitely one of the best pre-college choices I could have made. It was during the beating hot summer when a horde of at least 30 first years and I strolled around in New York City, exploring the sandbox we now had at our fingertips. It was a great experience and everyone wanted to meet new friends, so we all mingled and had our own chats with each other, or as a group. Ice breakers suck… but also man did I meet some dope people because of them.
I met my awesome roommate Jack!! During the first semester we played in a band together, he was a guitarist and I played keyboard. It was a make-shift band full of a bunch of people who were just meeting each other, but we were ultimately friends. During the first few weeks of classes I also played A LOT of pickup soccer on the turf field near the Hudson River, it has such a jaw dropping view of the city. My friends from pre-orientation would join in and we played games of 10 on 10. Sometimes even more people showed up, Hoboken is just such a tight-knit community so anyone was welcomed to play.
My life has seriously transformed since coming to college. I feel so independent and busy, which is a good thing. Time management is so important here. The classes are excruciatingly difficult, especially as I am an Environmental Engineering major, lots of math to be had… which ironically is not my strongest subject. I feel as though im surrounding myself with geniuses so it really pushes me to be my best version of myself. Everybody that I’ve met here has taken so many AP classes and has so many unique skills to bring to this school. I definitely wasn’t the biggest overachiever in high school so I feel like I’m playing catch-up every day. Some people say these classes are easy and they did this and that in high school, but honestly I am struggling — in a good way. I’ve put in so much effort studying for exams. Locking in for an entire weekend and studying for hours on end was something my high school self would scoff at, but here at Stevens it’s the minimum. Besides the boring class talk, I’ve really pushed myself to be an active member on campus. Just recently I’ve become a brother at Sigma Phi Epsilon, I’m a member of the Engineers Without Borders Project Development team, and I’m writing for The Stute as of now! I do all of this in hopes that I will graduate and look back on these years with a smile on my face, without any regrets. In high school I definitely was more of a recluse, I went home right after school, did homework, and played video games — I regret it all the time because high school is supposed to be the prime years but honestly I did not enjoy it all that much. Anyways, on a more positive note, I love it here and to any future freshman that need to hear this, please be open to any opportunities that come your way. Everything happens for a reason so keep an open mind and just be kind to everyone, you won’t enjoy college if you are on your own so seek out friends or mentors whenever you can!
