Jessai Flores

Next week is Bulldog Days, an annual event where Yale hosts over 1,000 prefrosh on campus. But I can’t seem to come to terms with the fact that the class of 2028 will no longer be the new kids. What do you mean I’m registering for my sophomore year classes this Thursday? How am I nearly done with an entire year of college? I feel like it was a mere two months ago that I was Google-Mapping my way to Science Hill and attempting to find the most fun suite party (did not exist). But when I really begin to reflect, I realize that I have lived about five lifetimes within the past year. I’ve learned, changed and screwed up more than any other year in my life. The minds of August-me and April-me are vastly different. There are mistakes and hardships to make during freshman year that are unavoidable (and necessary). That being said, here are some things I wish I could’ve known before my first semester. Prefrosh (and the ginormous, die-hard WKND fan base), listen up:

Starting with what I’m glad I did: 

I took a wide array of classes. It’s easy to come into your first semester and immediately zoom in on one major. Yale students tend to have the instinct of getting it all done as fast as possible. Most Yalies got here because we tend to be ambitious and competitive beings! But this shouldn’t apply to your first semester’s classes. You might see the requirements for a major you’re thinking about and decide to wipe out four of them your first semester — nope. You have the rest of your years at Yale to hyperfixate on your major(s). You should go out and discover what you don’t already know! How do you know you’re not interested in something if you’ve never tried it? And even if you’re dead set on a major, trying out classes that are wildly different can be constructive. 

I auditioned or applied for things I had never tried before. And yes — I got rejected. A lot.  But even the experience of auditioning or writing up an application in itself taught me a lot, both about myself and various fields. 

I made sure to have a first-name connection with nearly all of my professors. Often the faculty here is incredibly eager to get to know you, but sometimes it can take you introducing yourself first — do it. Sometimes this just meant I simply knew another faculty member, but sometimes this led to relationships that guided me throughout my first year. 

I got off campus — especially when it was nice out. The Yale bubble is wonderful, but it is also not everything. Remind yourself of that and escape every so often. A nice walk, some Elena’s indulgence (prefrosh, this is the best ice cream ever), or some coffee-shop working that isn’t Atticus. 

Here’s a crazy one — I slept. A lot. This sometimes meant that I went to bed before every ounce of work was done. But what I realized (through some trial and error) is that if I prioritize getting the right amount of sleep, I’d be much more productive the next day. If I stacked many days of sleep deficiency atop each other, it became a vicious cycle: staying up way too late (and doing worse at my work), waking up too late or not getting enough sleep, and then boom it’s the evening and I haven’t gotten enough work done. I will say this one is very person-by-person: if you know you work best after midnight, do your thing. But still figure out a way to get your eight hours. 

Coffee from the Acorn. Good for the bank. Good for the caffeine addiction. I wish I had discovered it earlier. 

I went to office hours. I had a stupid mental block for the first couple of weeks that I didn’t need office hours, that I could figure it out on my own. Well, learn from my mistakes: I recommend you to depart from your stubbornness ASAP and go to office hours. Not only did my work improve, but talking through concepts and problems with peer tutors or TAs allowed me to actually learn, rather than just going through the motion of a homework assignment. 

And of course, there are some things I wish I could go back and do differently. 

I wish I had let myself have more unplanned experiences. Ten more minutes of spontaneous social interaction won’t kill you. Sometimes I became too strict with my time and productivity — but once I finally started to step away from this habit I experienced some of my most important and memorable college moments.

I wish I’d thought more about future leadership roles.This one isn’t that big a deal, but it just wasn’t a thought that crossed my mind. I wish that it had at least crossed my mind. That’s all. 

I wish I didn’t spend so much time in Bass. Specifically lower Bass. It was like I was constantly welcoming misery with open arms. 

I wish I went to more shows on campus. There are so many talented people at Yale — when in your life will you get to be around 6,000 students with so many various passions, ideas, and gifts? Plus, supporting your friends and experiencing what they’ve been working so hard at is a blast. 

Less coffee from Atticus. Opposite of the Acorn. Bad for the bank. Not even great coffee. Sorry I said it. 

And lastly: I wish I was less pessimistic about the adjustment during the first couple of months. Some people won’t even have a hard time adjusting — and good for them. But this wasn’t me. I did not love my first two months here. And here’s what I think the problem boiled down to: I was too pessimistic. I didn’t feel comfortable or close with people off the bat and I missed my house and hometown. But I focused way too much on the lack of the familiar instead of all the awesome aspects that come with these first few months: you get to have a new start. You get to meet new people and build relationships. You get to define yourself and your social circle(s). And you get to build up a new home and community! This chance to start new, not to mention while being surrounded by incredible people, places, and resources, doesn’t come around very often. Soak it up!!