by Hannah Wysong

*This list is not exhaustive.  It is not what I would write if asked to give advice to freshmen in general, it is advice I would give my freshman self. 

1. Buy rain boots immediately; Butler’s sidewalks flood every time it rains. 

2. Don’t be afraid to go places (or do things) by yourself.  This does not just include campus organization meetings, but places around the city, like the IMA or the library.  Traveling (even locally) is empowering and an experience from which you can learn a lot. 

3. Quality of friends is much more important than quantity of friends.  It is good to meet a lot of new people, but you don’t have to be best friends with everyone.

4. People (probably including you) are almost always going to be friends with people they live near.  Proximity has so much to do with connections.  It’s not necessarily good or bad, just good to be aware of.

5. The world is bigger than Butler.  Definitely get involved on campus; it is so important to know what’s available, what’s going on, and how campus works.  However, there are many other communities with which to get involved: off-campus religious communities, an off-campus job, an organization in Indianapolis.  You can create communities in places other than Butler.  In addition, do not stress about missing out on something on campus (an event, an organization, a job, etc) because there is so much more to the world than Butler.