After a Long Summer, Your New Academic Year Begins: The Orientation Weeks, First Lectures, and Perhaps The First Time Doing Laundry Yourself. How do you, as a freshman, make a good start and how do you do it as comfortable as Possible?
Our brain loves familiar territory, so a new environment of Evokes Stress, Says coach and therapist Frederike van Spaendonck. When you set foot inside the University Building for the first time, you can at least accept that a new phase of your life is beginning. “And know that it is normal to feel uncomfortable at first.”
What Might Make It Easier: You are not the only one who feels this way. “Almost Everyone Experiences that, AltheHe it is not always visible to everything on the outside,” Says van Spaendonck. It is logical that it takes a while before you find your feet, she says. “You don’t have to know everything right away or belong everywhere. Give yourself time to find your place.”
Psychologist Frederike Mewe Thinks That You Can Make It Easier On Yourself by Visualizing in Advance What That New Place Looks Like. “Think About: Where am I Going, How Do I Cycle There, And What Can I Expect.” If you Consider That For Yourself, That First Day Might Feel Less Exciting.
Furthermore, Mewe Advies Staying Close to Yourself. Despite all the changes, or perhaps precisely because of those changes. She Emphasizes That the Pitfall Quickly Arises of Wanting Too Much and Running Fits Yourself. “You may be inclined to show yourself from your best side, because you want to be liked. But in doing so, you run the risk of constantly overpring your own boundaries. So don’t say ‘yes’ to dat fits you happy think about about think.”
You are not the only one who finds it exciting
It is very normal to want to belong somewhere, and coming in somewhere alone can be exciting. Perhaps you cling to the first familiar face you encounter. Van Spaendonck Advisors Being Open to Contact Moments with Your New Fellow Students. “And they don’t necessarily have to Become your new best friends right away.”
Starting Small Can Help, Such Asking Each Other a Simple Question, Getting Coffee Together, or Going to An Introductory Activity. “And by Tryping New Things At, For Example, A Sports, Study, Or Student Association, You Will Automatically Notice Where You Feel Comfortable And With Whom You Click,” Says Van Spaendonck. “Listen to Your Feelings: The More You Stay True to Yourself and What You Enjoy, The Faster You Will Start To Feel At Home Somewhere.”
Above All, Don’t Forget That You And Your Fellow Students Are All In The Same Boat. “And also good to know: Everyone is Mainly Busy with Themselves and Therefore Does Not Necessarily Pay Attention to What You Are Doing,” Says Mewe.
If you are still very nervous and cannot get rid of that tension in your body, she advises breathing exercises. “Reassure yourself by thinking that it is only temporary, and that the newness will wear off.” Accordance to her, it is better to focus on things that you do have influence on.
Routines also make it Easier, from Spaendonck Adds. “A fixed place in the Library, Becoming familiar with the buildings, or Building your own rhythm. That provides support and can make you feel safe faster.”
After the start of a new study, Countless situations can arise in which everything is new. Moving House or a New Job: Leaving the familiar Beind for the Unknown is Always Exciting. “Small Personal Contact Moments, Asking Questions, And Finding A Rhythm also Help There,” Says van Spaendonck. “OFTEN, One Colleague with whom you have a click is enough to make you feel at home faster.”