BAYLOR BOUND
honest advice from honestly nice people
By Kristyn Kiesling
“Oh no. not ANOTHER ‘what to do before college’ blog post!” oh yes. But ladies and gentlemen, THIS is a Baylor specific what to do before college blog post. And quite possibly the best one you’ll read. But that’s my opinion. Because I’m biased. Because I wrote it. Lol. Guess you’ll just have to determine that for yourself huh. SO without any further delay, here are 10 things you should do before coming to Baylor! 1. Buy a Baylor Sweatshirt
2. Get HYPED for Football!
Y’all. Seriously. Football. Maybe it’s just me (it’s not) but football is HUGE at Baylor. Game Day is so exciting. Campus is buzzing, and there’s more green and gold than you knew existed! It’s an incredible experience. Get excited! After everything our football program has been through, Baylor Nation could use some love and encouragement. No matter what happens, I for one am proud to be a Baylor bear. Today and everyday. #sicem
3. Talk to Your New Roomie
This scared the pants off of introverted me. She was new. Different. I didn’t know her, and I was scared to get to know her. I finally manned up...okay, my mom threatened to message her on Facebook, but talking to her and getting to know her a little before move in made a huge difference. So, talk to your roomie before you meet them. If you can, meet up before move in! I’m not saying it’s going to make everything sunshine and rainbows, but you’ll have a better understanding of who they are and that’s super helpful.
4. Ask Lots of Questions
Don’t be afraid to reach out to people. Your line camp leader, mom, dad, friend’s older sister who went to Baylor, me. All of us are so excited to have you on campus, and we would love to answer your questions! Whether it’s about food, dorm life, roommates, or church, whatever you have questions about, ask them! It’s so much better to walk onto campus your first day with an idea of what to expect than going in blind.
5. Start Your Caffeine Addiction Early
Coffee is a lifesaver in college. It helps with those late night study seshs, early morning Chem lab, and the horribly boring Bio professor-that’s my personal testimony at least. You may not like coffee, and that’s fine-breaks my coffee lovin’ heart but no one is going to force you to drink coffee. However, you’re probably going to need caffeine to get through some part of your career, so find out what you like best and go from there. Embrace caffeine. The buzz is your friend.
6. Snuggle Your Dog
If you have a dog-snuggle it, and snuggle it hard. You won’t see that baby for a while, and that’s gonna be harder than you think. It will be okay. Trust me, you can FaceTime with your dog and no one will judge you. But take the time you have left at home this summer and love your pup.
Don't have this many dogs to snuggle? Get some more. Another one. Another one.
7. Pack (duh) but pack well
Yes, obviously you should pack, but...like...what? Clearly you’ll need clothes, so def those, but trust me on this, you’re going to inherit billions of t-shirts, so maybe focus more on what you’ll realistically wear. Don’t overpack like I did. It makes move out complicated. Make sure you have storage, so like under the bed boxes, and containers, and all that jazz to put all the stuff you run out of room for. Also, pictures. One of my favorite things about my dorm room was all of the pictures I had of my friends. It makes your room more comfortable and homey.
8. Take a Tourist Day in Your Own Town
Sometimes we don’t take the time to appreciate the place that made us who we are. We live in these towns, and yet don’t know everything they have to offer. Take a day this summer to find out. Make memories and take the time to really appreciate the place you’re from. Take pride in where you grew up, or where you live now! It’s a super cool place because it’s where you’re from!
9. Thank the People That Matter
Your 5th grade teacher who believed in you. Your small group leader who prayed for you all through high school. The lady who knows your coffee order by heart. Your best friend who ate ice cream with you, and watched cheesy rom coms with you through your first broken heart. Your mom, dad, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and siblings who have been in your corner since day one. These people know you, care about you, and love you, and you should take the time to tell them how much they mean to you.
10. Keep an Open Mind
College is not like the movies. It’s tough. You miss your people back home, you have to make new friends, you have a meal plan and that’s weird, you have new friends and new teachers, and classes are super hard and you may not be ready. That’s okay. You don’t have to be. Just walk in with an open mind. Throw your expectations aside and really, truly experience college.
Well there you have it. These things may or may not help you this summer, but I’m willing to bet they would’ve helped me. You do you. Get excited for college. Enjoy your last summer at home before you’re officially a real person (because everyone knows high school doesn’t count). We are so so SO excited to meet you in the fall!
Don’t be afraid to slide into my DM’s, FB message me, snapchat me, email me, call me, beep me, if you wanna reach me. I’d love to talk to you. Really. I would. Do it. I’m cool. I promise. If I’m not cool I at least have a really cute dog.
Kristyn will be a Junior psychology major at Baylor. She has an addiction to sweet tea, sass, and snuggling with sloths. A southern girl with roots in New Braunfels, she loves to meet new friends and help them find their home at Baylor.
1 Comment
Just wanted to give a heads up for a way for students to save on storage. You can now rent space from fellow students or split a storage unit on Stache.com- The Airbnb of Storage. Super cool idea all you or your friends have to do is host your extra space in your garage, spare rooms basements etc and other students can rent from you. They save money and you make money.They provide free renters insurance as well, super cool. Check it out at Stache.com
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