Retail Therapy: Ensuring a Great Start to Week-O (Brenda)
I was so anxious about Week-O I was actually on the verge of tears last night, while Boyfriend reassured me of how amazing my first day at Uni would be. Almost twenty-four hours later, I’m home again, with sore feet and a huge smile on my face. He was right.
For some, the activities that will take place this week may seem a bit pointless. Some of them actually are, like campus tours for those like me who have been there quite a few times already, and know how to get around pretty well by themselves. However, it is completely worth a try. If you felt like ditching Orientation today, you might reconsider the thought of skipping it tomorrow as well. Why, you ask? Well, to put it simply… it’s because Week-O is pretty awesome!
Uni life and I were off to a rocky start this morning, when I slept in (I know, what on earth? Sleeping in on my very first day of school? What sort of person am I becoming?) and was left with only one hour and a half to get ready to leave. Mind you, first impressions are very important to me, so I always need all the time in the world whenever I start at a new school… Which means I had to hurry like crazy, especially considering I had ruined my nails last night. And I hate being in a hurry.
So I got to the bus stop in a bad mood, and getting more freaked out by the minute due to my dread of meeting new people. Two girls from Year 12 met me there and off we went to the city. We dropped one of them at RMIT, ran into another girl we went to school with on the tram, saw a crazy group of toga-wearing-weird-freshmen, and I was still very fearful. That changed the minute I stepped into Melbourne Uni’s campus. All of a sudden, future seemed brighter and I remembered that it was the first day of my dream coming through.
It doesn’t mean everything was a piece of cake, though. It did involve searching aimlessly for my host group, awkward silences with people in it, a crazy quest to find the exit at Baillieu Maze Library, disappointment at stalls that had run out of some amazing freebies by the time I got there… But it was all fun, and very rewarding. I did walk out today with a couple of new friends, who seem to be great people with whom I have heaps in common and can see myself forging a long-time friendship. I guess my six months working in retail have really improved my people skills. I’ve found out I’m not scared of social situations anymore, although I’d still take curling up on my couch to read a good book over meeting new people any day of the week. Somehow, I guess in the end retail really was my therapy!
Other highlights of the day worth mentioning: my course advice appointment (if you, like me, thought it was pointless and didn’t schedule one yet, you are wasting your time), the discovery of Farrago (what an awesome magazine! Kudos to Kevin Hawkins on his phenomenal “Standing Up For The Short Guy” piece, as well as to whomever developed the concept of the cover of edition 1, 2011), the 3-truths-1-lie game with my host group to get to know them, and “The Rough Guide to Uni” lecture, as well as the tour to the Rowden White Library. Go check these out as soon as possible, and I’ll see you on campus during the rest of Week-O. I hope everyone’s experiences have been just as good as mine! 🙂
Brenda