Congratulations new Terriers,
I'm so excited you're about to be a part of an amazing and welcoming community.
>> This is going to be an incredible time in your life,
I think that you're going to find so many new people, activities, interests.
>> I know how this feels to be in this position that you're in,
although I haven't been a freshman during COVID-19,
you guys have it a little tough here but >> We're here to give you some advice and
to ease some of your worries and concerns going into your first year of college.
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>> My biggest fear was making friends like I was terrified of like
the whole process of like starting over.
But it actually wasn't that hard to make friends as long as you put yourself
out there.
>> Every freshman has that same thought in their mind,
they're like how do I meet people?
Walk up to a person and say, hey, what's your name?
Or hey, my name is, and it's the quickest and
easiest way to get to talking to somebody.
>> If you're in a Zoom class,
let's say someone says something really interesting and you really liked it.
You can private message in the Zoom class, so you can say dude,
that was such a cool point.
Or like hey, by the way I think you're really cool, I would love for
us to like hang out sometime.
>> Don't be afraid to just start a conversation with someone,
that's sort of the culture when you're a freshman, so it's not unusual at all.
>> I think it's all just about like being creative and
open minded about how you're gonna hang out in this college experience cuz it's no
longer like you can go to a party.
>> There's so many things you can do outside,
you can walk from the BU to the Boston Commons.
Have a picnic there outside, explore new areas, walk to Fenway.
There's definitely a lot of things you can do, especially when it's warm,
and you should take advantage of that just to stay safe.
>> Since I'm an international student, I came to the US without knowing anybody.
Many of the topics, the American kids they were talking about,
American pop culture during your first several times I was afraid to ask.
So, when they were like talking about something that seems funny but
I don't know nothing about.
And they laugh, I will just pretend I understand and I'd laugh too.
My suggestion would be definitely just to ask and
reach out if you have anything you don't know.
And your American friends will be more than happy to tell you what is this and
how cool it is.
>> I'd also said that it's important to join clubs,
even things that you don't think you'll be interested in.
Because you might find a new passion, you might meet more friends who
are older than you, younger than you from a different country.
>> Focus on yourself as well as school and really kind of explore what you're
interested in in the clubs and stuff like that.
>> I think a lot of students think they're going to join college and
everything's gonna change.
I know that for me, in high school, it was kind of like an awkward, weird time.
And I kept telling myself when I go to college, I'm gonna have a blast,
when I go to college.
Like I'm gonna start this and I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna become this person and
it doesn't happen that way.
When you go to college, like it takes baby steps and
sometimes you may not achieve that goal that you're really thinking about,
but that's okay because you found something else.
>> Don't forget to take care of yourself,
like it's always okay to say no to something.
You can't just overexert yourself all the time because that's gonna showed you so
thin and you're not gonna have energy to do anything.
>> Take free time, out of your day, every day, at least every week.
And do something that you just do for the sake of enjoying it, and
that'll make I think a big impact on your mental health.
>> The one thing that Dean Elmore had said at orientation that really
stuck with me is that you have something to bring that nobody else does.
And if you don't know it yet, then that's fine,
it's your first year so take your time, appreciate yourself.
>> I think our campus is gonna feel way more connected than usual.
And the reason is because this is the first time we really are doing a lot of
things to think about the other people on campus.
So all these COVID-19 protocols, they're for yours own health and safety, but
they're really for everyone's health and safety.
And I think that mindset is really gonna make campus feel extra special this year.
And I'm really excited to see all that you bring to Boston University,
I think you're gonna have a wonderful time.
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