Well, fellow Gusties, one week in and everyone’s made it out alive, albeit with a few headaches along the way.

Classes are well on their way. The piles of homework and stress levels are both escalating at an alarming degree. Well, for me at least.

Not that I don’t love being here, of course. I just wish I could have had that “orientation/move-in feeling” a little longer. You know the feeling — when everything was fresh and new and exciting, and you couldn’t wait to see what the day had in store.

So, I’m going to take it back.

Back to those first few days when I still felt animated and alive and excited, not like I was about to fall asleep in the middle of my sociology lecture. Because whether you’re a returning senior or a first-year, such as myself, the start of a new semester is always an exciting time. I imagine the upperclassmen, who are old pros by this point, look on with equal amounts of pity and amusement as first-years stand at the front of the Caf looking like lost puppies. Or getting flustered every time they try to open their post office box while the sophomores revel in the fact that they are no longer where we stand.

I don’t know, maybe I’m just a huge nerd that loves awkward, get-to-know-each-other games and square dancing, but I legitimately miss Orientation. I loved meeting my roommate and section for the first time. I loved that dumb shoe game and the question beach ball. I liked introducing myself to someone just because they held the door open for me or I ran into them in the main lounge. I even loved Race To The Middle, which is basically a nightmare come true for a group full of introverts.

What I miss most about those few days, however, is all the love and positivity that was so visible all over campus. I miss when everyone was so excited just to be here and see everyone.

Perhaps the most heartwarming scene I witnessed was two days before the beginning of classes when upperclassmen were just starting to appear on campus. I was sitting in the Faf eating lunch with my greeter group when my Gustie Greeter’s face just lit up. “I’ll be right back, guys,” he told us and bounded across the lunch room where the most adorable bro-hug then occurred.

The next couple days, I would witness quite a few more of these happenings and every time it brought a smile to my face. Being a first-year, I haven’t experienced that moment of seeing a best friend or former roommate again after months of being apart, but experiencing others’ reactions when they did was quite the moving scene.

It’s already a couple weeks into the new semester. Time flies, doesn’t it? I still haven’t quite gotten the hang of my post office box combo, and I occasionally still feel puppy-esque, but I’m slowly starting to settle into a daily routine. The appearance of that routine also means the disappearance of a lot of the energy and excitement I had at the beginning, and I’m sure I’m not the only one in that boat.

The bro-hugs have been replaced by “sup” nods across a crowded room and fresh, happy faces have been replaced by drowsy, weary ones. It’s officially time to get down to business.

So, I’d just like to say this – keep those heads up, Gusties! If you’re feeling run down by the humdrum monotony of your daily routine, switch it up a bit! If you’re feeling bored and stuck in a rut the only one who can change that is you. Do that thing you’re not sure you should do, join that club you’ve always wanted to join, and take risks and just start enjoying yourself. Don’t just make your life count – make it exciting, too!