Anxious about University? Tips to adjust from a York Veteran!

The next chapter of your life
is waiting for you!

High School is over and you survived, now you're embarking on a new chapter of your life. On the
surface you might be calm and ready but underneath you might be freaking out just a little bit. Don't worry, you're not alone pretty much every other first year is nervous about their first year. I'm here to offer you some tips for adjusting to University Life!

As a self-proclaimed York Veteran I've compiled a list of things that you might want to know to help ease your anxiety about starting at University.



1. Keep an OPEN MIND
--Coming into York you might have some preconceptions concerning your university experience. From movies and TV you might expect your career at York to be some kind of montage of parties, all-nighters and missed classes. Alternatively you might expect your university career to be filled with long
research assignments with impossible expectations, professors that live to torture their students and classmates that are out to sabotage your success. Let me be the first to tell you to PUT THESE THOUGHTS OUT OF YOUR MIND!!

Yes University will be different from High School. You will be a small fish in a big pond at first, it will be more work and you might find it difficult to adjust at first but it is not beyond your skill set. You will have to work while you're here, you will have to attend classes, you will have professors that challenge you but it won't be more than you can handle. Be open and willing to try new things while you're here. The four years you're at university are an opportunity for you to learn more about yourself as a person so don't rob yourself of the chance to experience university life.

2. Be Brave!
--Yes York is a big school, Yes you will be one in 60,000 students, but that doesn't mean that you have to be afraid. You have support at every turn so if you need help all you have to do is be brave enough
to ask. If you have a question, there is a VERY strong chance that other people in your class also have the same question. So don't be afraid to put up your hand in lecture and ask. If you don't want to ask in lecture you can also meet with you professor after class or in office hours!

3. Get involved and Cast a WIDE NET
--While at York I would highly recommend that you get involved with campus life in some way. You might not know where your interests lie so why not try a lot of clubs or organizations and see what you like best! We have over close to 500 student clubs, organizations, charities, student governments and YU Connect or this blog for some cool clubs you might be interested in! Be willing to try several different things on till you find what you like.

4. If you need help all you have to do is ask for it!
--If you find yourself at a lost, struggling or just needing a little support all you have to do is reach out to get the help you need. York is dedicated to ensuring that students succeed at University, that being said the university can help you if you don't say you need help. This goes back to being brave, if you need help feel free to ask for it. If you're not sure where to go for help you can stop by the RED Zone and we can help you find the best people that can help you. There are tons of free workshops, seminars, counsellors and peer mentor support systems that are available for ALL York students that there's no shortage of services you can access. Here's some info on the many services that York has available to support students!

5. Try to get ahead and stay organized
--The first few weeks of the fall semester are a little lighter when it comes to work load, so I'd recommend trying to get yourself organized and prepared for when your schedule begins to pick up. There are some quick and easy ways to get organized, using your computer, phone or tablet's calendar blog for some other tips you can use to get organized.
to plot your due dates and other assignments. I'd also recommend using an agenda since you can get a FREE agenda from the York Federation of Students at the beginning of the semester. So pick up you're free agenda and use it to write everything down. Check out this

Well those are my top 5 tips for adjusting to University life. I hope that it helps to calm your anxiety. If you have any questions about the things I've mentioned here please feel free to comment below!

As always, remember to take it one day at a time and catch me in the Zone!

Nicole

You'll get by with a little help from your friends...

Worried that you won't make any friends when you get to York? Concerned that you'll be lonely?

Wanna know the secret behind making friends at University? COURAGE!

I know it might seem a little wishy washy, but having courage can make all the difference when it comes to meeting new people and making new friends. At York you'll find yourself surrounded by so many different people that it might be a little overwhelming to take that initial step. You might be wondering what opportunities you'll have to meet people, the VERY first chance you'll get will come in the form of FROSH WEEK!

FROSH WEEK runs from Aug 31st to Sept 9th and it will be your first and BEST chance to meet people and make new friends. EVERYONE at Frosh week will be NEW, no one will know anyone...so right off the bat you already have something in common with everyone at Frosh week.

Insert: COURAGE

No one is going to do it for you...you have to be the one to make the effort to talk. You have no idea how easy it is once you get started. A few conversation starters for the socially awkward among us...

1. Hey what's your major?
2. Did you grow up in Toronto?
3. What do you think of this college system?
4. Did the Frosh bosses scare you too when you first got here?
5. Are you totes excited about going to "blank" event?
6. Are you confused about what's going on as well?
7. Are you living in res or staying in the commuter room?
8. Are you pumped for today?
9.What made you choose York?
10.What classes are you in?

With these conversation starters even the most awkward among us can meet people and make friends. Try these out at Frosh week and let me know how it goes!

RED Zone? RSA? Whatt does that mean and WHY should I care??

What does it mean?

RED Zone stands for Ready, Engage, Discover and the aim of this program is to make the transition from high school to university easier for new students. 

RED Zone runs throughout the summer acting as a bridging program, where new students can ask questions and learn about campus life from people that really know what student life is like! It also runs throughout the fall/winter but it’s focus shifts from a bridging program to a support program. So throughout your first year at York you always have support!

If you have questions, concerns or you just want to talk to someone you should go and visit the RedZone in Vari Hall. If you’re an international student you should totally check out the RedZone blogs. The whole program is staffed by upper-year students who know a lot about the University. They know what it’s like to be a first-year student and they want to help you figure out your place at York. 

RSA?

The most important thing about the RED Zone program in my opinion is the fact that it is staffed by students, caledl RSA or RED Zone Student Ambassadors. RSA's represent a wide range of experiences, some have been very involved in college life, others very involved in clubs and organizations, some RSA's are international students, some are from small towns, some are from the heart of Toronto. The point is the RSA's are as diverse as the York population and as an incoming student we want you to feel like you can connect with us. 

We all come from different backgrounds and have had different experiences that have made us uniquely qualified to talk to new students. We WANT you do succeed at York!

We Look GOOOD!

Why should you care?

You should care because we care, we want to help make your experience at York amazing. All of the RSA's are amazing, warm and friendly people that are happy to answer any and all questions you have about York. We wouldn't be RSA's if we didn't care. That means that if you visit us in Vari Hall, or on our blogs or on twitter we will take the time to make sure that you feel Ready, Engaged and better able to Discover all that York has to offer!

Hi, my name is Nicole and I'm an RSA!!

Helllooo York University!!!

That's ME :D

My name is Nicole and I am a RED Zone Student Ambassador this summer.

What the heck does that mean for you? EXCELLENT QUESTION!

Basically that means that I'm an upper year student that has been through the storm so to speak and will be able to show you the ropes, so that you can hit the ground running. (As you can see I'm all about the OVER used cliches!)

Since we'll be getting to know each other really well over the summer I think I'll start by introducing myself to you. Our friendship has to start somewhere and I think that this is the BEST place for it to begin.  :)  YES I'm going to write this as if I'm writing to a friend, so that it doesn't feel cold and impersonal, plus if you're reading this I consider you a friend for taking time out of your day to spend with me!! 

So who am I? 

What a DEEP question! I feel as though I should have something SUPPER important to say to you. Unfortunately or fortunately (depends on how you look at it) I won't be bearing my soul to you in the here and now. I'll wait until at least my second post before I tell you my biggest secrets :P. 

Basic Info:

Home, Sweet, Home!

I'm an international student, from The Bahamas. Yeah I know it's cool, feel free to ask me about all the hot spots if you're planning a trip to my homeland!

Graduation Day...with the Parents!

I'm going into my sixth year at York. I have already graduated from York with a degree in Anthropology, and a Professional Certificate in Marketing; and now I'm completing a second degree in Political Science. YES that means that I have been a First Year twice at York so I know what you're going through, and I can probably answer any question you have about York life...since I've been here soooooo long (I did an 'o' for each year I've been here :P). 

Best colour EVER!

My ALL TIME FAVORITE COLOR is PURPLE! I know that doesn't seem like something worth mentioning but it's SUPER important to know. When I'm walking around on campus and I see people wearing purple I ALWAYS stop them and tell them how much I like what they're wearing. So if you're walking along wearing purple and I stop you to say "hey I LOVE that ___" then you'll know that you were just NICOLED!

I was a Peer Health Educator for 3 three years and so I can talk to you about a WIDE variety of health topics from managing stress to alcohol use and even sexual health questions. I'm an open person and I am comfortable talking to people about anything. 

Health Ed = FAMILY!

I LOVE to karaoke but I can't sing to save my life. It seriously sounds like a dying cat when I try to belt out a ballad like Beyonce! It's not pretty!! I also LOVE to dance, again I can't dance at all (I'm noticing a pattern starting to develop here!) but it's something I'm always doing. So if you come into the RED Zone and you see this one chick "bustin' a move" that's probably me. :)

Contact info: 

You can feel free to contact me on this blog. I'm open to questions, comments pretty much anything. If you take the time to read my posts and ask questions, I will take the time to answer your questions. I mean come on we're practically FAMILY at this point!!

Also if you want to contact me in REAL TIME, I'm ALL over twitter. My twitter name is @nuriasz I'm on it all the time, thanks to my addiction to my crackberr...I mean blackberry. So you can reach me whenever you have a question and I'll get back to you. Recently my world exploded when I hit 100 followers on twitter...so if you really want to me to go INSANE let's try for 120 followers...seriously I'd FREAK OUT if that many people started following me!

 Humm I think that's it...it's soo hard to think of things to say about yourself without sounding conceited or self-involved. So if there are any questions that you guys have for me...feel free to post them in the comments section below the post and I'd be MORE than happy to answer them!

Soo if you took the time read this thesis length post then...THANK YOU SOO MUCH, You're AWESOME and I'm totally you're BEST FRIEND NOW!

Now that you know a little about me...feel free to follow me, ask me questions or come on over to the RED Zone and meet me and the other AMAZING RSA's!!

Take Care, 

Nicole