- Meet new people — You’ve left your hometown suburb, and for the first time, you’re surrounded by all new people! Try not to limit yourself to one social circle. Get to know people from the Dramat and engineering geeks all the same, or perhaps that rag-tag band of misfits that stand on the corner, tossing stones in the air and chewing bubble gum. They may not have money, but they do have heart.
- Explore New Haven — Yale’s campus is beautiful, but New Haven is so much more. New Haven also has pizza. Frank Pepe’s pizza, Sally’s pizza, Brick Oven Pizza, you name it! Just don’t go to Fazione’s on Wednesday at 6pm. They’re closed.
- School is more than just class — Don’t spend all your nights in Bass! Live a little. If a smooth-talking paisan comes your way, shouts “Hey Shakespeare, iambic-pentameter this!” and smacks your anthology to the ground, you probably had it coming. You know, he could probably teach you a thing or two.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help — It’s cliché but true! If you’re struggling in a class, go to office hours. They’re there for a reason! And if you’re really struggling, woo them with a slice of pizza from Fazione’s.
- Discover new passions — It can be anything! But it can also be doo-wop.
- Develop note-taking strategies — You don’t have to write everything down, just the most important stuff, like the password to your professor’s Google account, and the specific Drive folder where they keep the midterm answers. Most importantly, don’t be a little bitch when Jackie wants to copy your notes.
- Stay healthy — Lay off the junk food, exercise frequently, and most of all, get eight hours of sleep, seriously. You’ll get more work done thinking clearly when you refrain from pulling those all-nighters. Your mental health is more closely tied to your physical health than you might think.
- Learn to snap
—S. Leone
