Dear Freshman Someone,
You know that overwhelming feeling of excitement, nerves, and opportunity – the one that hit you during move-in, during speeches at Convocation, during Pluralism in Action or your first rendezvous with your new fake ID?
That feeling stays with you for the whole four years. So get ready.
Granted, during the highs and lows of your time here at Georgetown, certain strains of that feeling are more poignant than others. The excitement tends to come out when you receive a good grade, take the perfect Healy pic, have an awesome day with friends or an awesome night with strangers, who become friends as a result. You will find excitement in dozens of little things, from a rare moment at Saxby’s where there is no line for coffee, to the first time you find out how to access the Leavey Esplanade (just keep taking the stairs up, you’ll find it).
Along with those heightened moments of excitement, there will be instances in which the nervous portion of that feeling becomes borderline consuming. This might occur during bouts of homesickness, when your roommate isn’t all you thought they’d be, or when you fail your first test (or if you’re like me, every single test in Intro to Chemistry).
Georgetown is beautiful, but the stress culture is real – and while it’s good that you now know this, what you really need to know is that it’s okay. Like, so completely okay. Be stressed: have that breakdown in your Lau 4 cubicle, vent that your old roommate made off with your record player, skip your third consecutive night at Chi Di because you know it’ll be the same as the other times. Occasionally, it is necessary to accept your stress so it does not consume you. Whether you believe it or not, everyone here reaches that stage at least once in his or her four years.
Georgetown is a place for you to try and succeed, but also for you to try and fail. You can study one subject for years and decide to change majors after one great elective. You can be a part of a team for years only to wake up one day and realize it doesn’t make you happy. It’s important to remember that you didn’t come to Georgetown to stay the same: you came to grow. Don’t be surprised when this growth changes you and pulls you in new directions. Like I said before, it is so completely okay.
So, that feeling I was talking about earlier, the one of excitement, nerves, and opportunity. It’s not going anywhere, so you can enjoy it and savor it like a Saxby’s macchiato or you can down it like a bad shot of Burnett’s at your first freshman party. The choice is up to you, and either is so entirely, completely okay.
Here to drink that macchiato or take shot with you,
(JK about the shot, but I’ll put it in a mixed drink)
Bella