Welcome to Humboldt State! (Or as you may have heard it also called, HSU, Hills and Stairs University, school for hippies, or that one school known for weed; but whatever the case your will be proud to call yourself a lumberjack.) You are about to enter into the first semester of your 4 year (or possibly more) journey at Humboldt. Trust me as someone who just went through my first semester I have a lot of advice that I can offer you to get through it. One big thing I can tell you is that college is not nearly the same thing as high school, and trust me that’s a good thing. The most important thing I would say is to have fun. You’re here for a long time so why not make it the best years of your life.
First off, I’m a Southern Californian girl and I will tell you I was not prepared for the culture at Humboldt. I have finally learned that there is a giant (and I mean humongous) difference between Southern and Northern California. Not only are the people and attitude completely different, the weather is the hardest adjustment I have ever made in my life. And that leads me to the rain. I’m sure you’ve heard that it rains a lot here, so did I when I accepted my admission, however you really need to understand and prepare for, tons and tons of rain! Now if you love the rain, then this school could honestly not be anymore perfect for you. But if you’re like me, and the sound of rain from inside, while you’re drinking hot chocolate, and watching a movie is way better than you actually being outside in it, you may be in for a surprise. The good thing is that it will rain enough your first semester that you will actually start to like it. But as a warning, go out and buy rain clothes, an umbrella, a waterproof case for your backpack, and most importantly do not make the mistake I did thinking that Rainbow Sandals were going to get you through the whole year at Humboldt, go invest in rain boots. That’s one investment you won’t regret.
Another thing that you will soon adjust to is that if your from anywhere south of San Francisco, the word “Hella” is thrown around more times than a girl says “like” in a sentence. Yes, in Southern California that word is like the worse thing you can say, but you will learn to just accept it. And trust me no matter how much you tell yourself that you wont ever say it, you start to see your fellow Socal friends say it and then form there it will eventually accidently slip out of you and you wont even notice. But you will realize that these people that say “hella” like crazy are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. People in this town, and well most in Northern California are extremely nice and will go out of their way to help you out. I know you must be worried about making friends and stressing if you will fit in but trust me there is no way that you can’t. That’s what’s great about your first semester you can create who you want to be and create the first impression you want to make. Don’t try to impress people with the cutest outfits everyday with your hair and make up done. Trust me sweats, a sweatshirt, and your hair in a ponytail will become your best friend. As long as you stay open minded and positive, meeting new people will be easy and fun. You’ll have friends in no time and they are the one most important thing that will get you through your entire time in college. You have to remember that everyone is in the same boat as you are, no one knows anyone and everyone is looking for friends. I would suggest finding one of the themed housing to live in, that way you’ll be with people that have the same interest as you. And no matter what anyone tells you, The Canyon dorms are the most legit and amazing dorm place to live. I must say Pepperwood may be at the top of the 8 buildings in The Canyon. I guarantee you that whether or not you live there, you will find an excuse to stop your homework and everything that may be important and crucial at the time, to go over and join in on the nerf gun wars, strobe/backlight parties, mini bike jumping, mattress wars, and so many other activities that are unspeakable due to housing regulations and rules. But besides that go out at make friends! Talk to your roommate. You are bound to have more similarities than that you both are night people and don’t mind music in the room, or any other little question that you most likely lied about on the roommate questionnaire because you thought that you parents would somehow be able to see your answers. Trust me there is a lot to get to know about each other. If you don’t try and you hate them you will have the longest semester of your life.
So I’m sure that you’ve heard that UC Santa Barbra and Arizona State are the biggest party schools ever, but I can tell you that every college is a party school! Yes, college is that time that you have finally escaped your parents and all you want to do is rebel and go to every party, but pace yourself and make a good balance between having fun and focusing on your studies and classes. However, I do believe that you learn more in college by going out and experiencing life than you do in class.
Also, if you have ever visited the campus or area you may agree with everyone in the entire world that HSU does honestly stand for Hills and Stairs University. Now this “nickname” has its pluses and minuses. On the bright side for all you that have been reading magazines and going online to find ways to avoid that dreaded “freshman 15,” well guess what you have nothing to worry about. There are enough stairs at this school that by the time you walk to class you have just burned off all the calories that you just ate. However, do NOT and mean do NOT let the stairs intimidate you. One rule pace yourself on them, do not be one of those people that stop half way on them out of breath. You will get laughed at I promise. And try your best not to make the stairs an excuse not to go to your far class that day. It’s always worth it to make it to class and exercise never hurt anyone. However, I will tell you this, take the time out and explore the campus. There are so many shortcuts from place to place that will get you places faster and you can actually avoid a lot of stairs. And that leads me to one little point. I don’t care where you are coming from, this campus is in the middle of the Redwood Forest, go out an explore it, its gorgeous! There are tons of things to find, but as I learned never go in it without someone else or least a phone. There are very slippery spots, (considering all the rain) that result in you falling down rain drains into cement sewer rooms, that trust me are the hardest things to get out of by yourself. But you’ll find the most fun thing to do is to get lost in the forest and the best memories are made in it.
Now to get to the part where I explain where all that work you did for 4 years of high school is going towards. Well, lets just say since you probably hated most of your classes cause they had no relation to anything that interested you, those 4 years were all general education classes that now will be reviewed again just to torture you. Don’t get me wrong not all of the classes will be bad but you may find all that information that you learned in high school does not apply or transfer to the classes you will be taking here. But that’s what’s great about college you make your own schedule and pick your own classes. Some are required but you have options between those required classes. One suggestion when you make you schedule is that, it is in your best interest to not have big gaps in between classes. I have learned that ending class at 9a.m. and your next one isn’t till 4p.m. gives you about 5 or 6 hours to find an excuse not to go to class at 4p.m. And trust me there are a lot of things that you can come up with. Which leads me to suggest, all teachers give you a limit to how many days you can miss before they consider that you are dropped from the class, but I would not make it a goal to get to that number. You have a lot of new freedom and responsibilities but classes are very important. They often provide value information about upcoming exams that can’t be found in the book. Every day that you miss you are responsible for the information that was missed. Make sure that you know the furlough days for class too, because you have to be prepared for the information that wasn’t covered. Not to make this more important (though it may be) than the absolute necessity of that information, I have to say that when you show up to an 8 o’clock morning class after walking through the rain to find that you forget it was a furlough day is the worse thing in the world. So make sure you know those and make a note of it.
But besides that classes are a lot more fun but at the same time more difficult than high school. The teachers here are very laid back and helpful. Get to know them they will be your friend, they don’t bite. You have opportunities to get the full experience out of the class so take it. If you absolutely hate the class take advantage of being able to drop classes within the time period. This gives you the chance to find classes that you like and enjoy. For those of you that have no idea what you want your major to be this is your chance to explore and find that. And for those of you who know what you want to be and the major, stick with it, and try your best. You may find that it really isn’t what you wanted to do with your life. But hey remember that saying everyone used to tell you that it okay that you don’t know what you want to be, you have time to figure it out? Well yeah, as annoying as that way it’s true. No one expects you to know what you want to do for the rest of your life in a split second. Get out there and explore major, take internships, visit the career center, and be open-minded.
You’ll find that without your parents, you have no curfew, no one to tell you what you can and can’t do, and no one there to be your alarm clock. The one thing you will value the most is sleep, but it’s under your control. Try and set a good sleeping schedule and taking naps are okay, they give you a break from the day. Stay up late on the weekends but don’t try and pull an all-nighter on a Tuesday playing video games and drinking energy drinks because in the morning you will hate yourself. And make sure to buy a battery-powered alarm clock. There are numerous amounts of power outages here and that will cause your alarm not to wake you up at that dreaded hour. You may think that’s a good thing but just wait until you miss your midterm because of it. Sleep will become your best friend, believe me.
So there you have it a complete guide to survive your first semester. I have a few more random suggestions that could possibly make your life a little easier. Do your best to stop procrastinating on homework (you don’t want to me king of procrastination, that’s not cool like you may think it is, you wont get a trophy for it, you’ll get an F), don’t let facebook take over your life and don’t get a Farmville, you will start to think that they both are more important that the essay you are supposed to be writing. Also, find some kind of entertainment, the gym, video games, board games, computer, anything to get your mind off of school and stress. Get to know your CA’s, they are really nice and remember they control if you stay in housing and they control the strikes against you. Bring as many quarters you can to school. You will need them for the laundry. Find at least one friend with a car and make sure you take advantage and learn the bus system. (It’s really not that hard.) And most importantly stay in contact with friends and family at home. You’ll find that you will learn a lot more if you go out and learn more valuable lessons yourself, but just remember to always have fun. College is what you make of it so try and have the best time of your life. Well I guess all that’s left to say is good luck, try your best, don’t party to hard, and have fun!
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