Hi! I’m Hope Osborn, a first-year student from Milbank. I’m a psychology major and theatre minor! I am involved with the Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College, the Newman Center, Theatre, the Choralia, Jacks for Life and more. I have never eaten Ramen Noodles and even though I am in college now, I don’t plan to start! I’ll be sharing a few posts about the first weeks of college including my experience, tips, and tricks that I learned the hard way so you don’t have to.
After counting down the days to college throughout high school, Move-In Day finally arrived. Like the other countless baby Jackrabbits on campus, I was full of nervous energy. Would I get to class on time? How do I deal with roommates? How do I balance activities, class, social life, clubs and still have time to eat Chick-Fil-A now and then?
I remember arriving to South Dakota State University on August 23. I was terrified. I’d been told by students at other universities that Move-In Day was a huge mess, and I wasn’t prepared to endure the chaos. Surprisingly, I was welcomed immediately and a swarm of students descended upon my stuff and carried it all to my residence hall room. The fear melted away. Everyone seemed so happy to be at State. It really stunned me. Their excitement was contagious, even though many of the students had been carrying fridges all day!
Throughout that first weekend at college, I found my nerves slowly subsiding and I became more comfortable. I learned names, I forgot them and learned them over again. I met countless friends, explored campus, climbed the Campanile, and ate loads of free ice cream (my personal favorite: Barry Berry!).
In the first week of class, I got lost. Don’t worry, I made it on time. It’s definitely a rite of passage to get lost in the first week. I finally started getting the hang of people’s names, I understood the layout of campus, and found out that Extreme Pita has the best food on campus (in my opinion)! I went to McDonald’s with friends late at night, stayed up talking with them, ate toast at Toasty Tuesday in Honors Hall, and more. I forgot assignments, I stayed up to do homework and even dropped a class and learned that it is totally O.K. to do so. A little over a week later, I’ve been through the stress, the excitement, the laughter and the tears. I could tell you I am a seasoned veteran and definitely have this college thing down, but I promise, I’m winging it like every other first-year student. At least I don’t wear my lanyard around my neck (freshmen, if you haven’t learned that tip yet, now is the time). I know I’ll experience more stress, more laughs, and experience so much more during college. The first week was a wild and exciting ride. But most importantly, I came to realize that the saying is true: every day really is a great day to be a Jackrabbit.
