Confused Students Welcome

Dear CSULA Freshman,

Congratulations for making it this far to college! As a freshman you can get overwhelmed or confused by many things, but the first part in enjoying your college experience is to be grateful for this opportunity to learn about anything, everything, and nothing. Now, that you have begun your journey to higher education I ask you to ponder why you’re here or what exactly is your end goal. You don’t have to answer that question this very second, but starting that thought process if you are unsure of your aspirations will really allow you to be open minded and seize more opportunities down the line. This is coming from a student who did not and still doesn’t know what to do after college, but because of my mentality I’m able to look for a variety of resources to help me in my process of discovery.

If you are like me and struggling with what they want to do in life, I want you to know that it is perfectly okay to feel that way. College is a time of exploration and figuring out what you want to do for the rest of your life can require more time. This time can be spent utilizing the multiple resources we have on campus to help you figure that out. One resource that we have would be the organizations that we have on campus. Cal State Los Angeles provides a wide variety of clubs to join from accounting, to marketing, to engineering, etc. If you’re interested in a particular field of study then you can probably find a club or body of people who feel the same. These people, along with the clubs/organizations are who will be able to give insight on the different careers you may want to pursue.

Communication is your best friend in college, chances are there’s going to be something you don’t know the answer to during your first semester, but the beautiful thing is that I guarantee someone else does, it’s simply a matter of asking. The only way you are going to be able to discover new things about yourself and what you want to do in life is by exploring on campus. You can explore places, things, or people, but you can’t do it alone or without communication. So I leave you with this, if you came into college unsure of what you wanted to accomplish by the end, accept it and use it as motivation to actively seek out opportunities to figure it out through different resources on campus as well as effective communication. I believe in you.

Enjoy the parking,

Fellow wanderer

This Is All About Homework

Dear Freshman,

            What I’m about to give you is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and I’m not going to sugar coat it or make it all fancy. I’m going to make it so you can read it and understand it easily, and emphasize the fact that these are some of the basics needed to survive in college.

Don’t wait to do your homework. I’m serious, don’t. Whatever it is you think is more important or more fun isn’t worth the pressure you’re putting on your future self.

And I’m not talking about the same homework you had in high school, where you could do it in class the day it was due, or copy someone else the night before. No, these are straight up 4-page essays that you’ll stay up till 3 hours before you get up if you push it to the due date.

Also, when the teacher says the assignment window closes at 12, it closes at 12. No take backs, no “but it’s 12:01”. Unless you have an extension, you’re screwed.

Get ready to read, too. Don’t be afraid to skip to what you need to read if you need it in a project, either; you can always read the whole book later after the semester is over.

Finally, try to get enough sleep if you’re not up doing homework. It’s not worth the tiredness the next day if you’re just up playing games or surfing the web, especially if you commute. (You see, you’ll last through most of the day, but the drive home can get dangerous if you’re tired.)

I leave you with this: You’ll mess up at first, and that’s okay. Just learn from it and better yourself, and try not to let it happen again. If it does, the campus has resources you can use. Good luck out there.

A freshman

Yo Freshman

Dear Freshman,

Looks like you messed up big time to get here huh? Just playing, Cal State La is one of the biggest steps for reaching your goals and if you’re like me, someone who is kind of disappointed for coming here. Don’t be at all, because sooner or later you’ll feel right at home and if not, you can always transfer to another school. Anyways, buckle your seatbelt and put on them shades cause you’re going to be driving yo booty to your new home every day (now I might be wrong on this depending on your schedule or if you live on campus) for the next four to five years of your life dawg. Now I know how you feel, you might be lost or nervous your first days here, but don’t be, I’m going to be giving you my pro-tips, freshman to freshman, on surviving here at Cal State LA.

Pro-tip number one, “KETSP”. Know everything that the school provides; that is, know where your resources are, what building your classes will be held, where to eat, where the restrooms are, where you go for tutoring, where you go when in need for help, etc. Now if you were like me, someone who didn’t pay attention to the tour of the school or might’ve forgotten, refresh your mind and walk around and find what’s going to be important for you, because for me, one of the most important things was finding the best restroom on campus. I treat myself right so I had to find one and I did, but I am not going to mention it to you because hardly anyone goes to this restroom and I like to keep it that way. I also like to add on to this, is that the reason why I say know everything that this school provides is that, the school is here to help you get through the years so you can graduate. We all know life is unpredictable, man like the other day I fell inside the toilet, that’s all the info I’m going to give on that, but to be serious. If you are ever having a hard time and you’re looking for help, there are resources such as the health center that provide services to help you. Always know that you’re not alone.

Pro-tip number two, “JAC”. Join a club or something that this school provides! You don’t want to just go to school and go home every day, that’s boring and you’ll soon start to question why you do this to yourself. The reason why I say this is to tell you that college might be a rough time. Many things can happen and you don’t know what life has in store, so a good thing to help your mind get out of those things is to join a club that you’re interested in. There are many clubs on this campus and I am sure you’ll find one that you will like. Also, this will be a good experience to learn and make new friends, which can make you motivated to continue to come to school and quite possibly make your life even better.

Now, who knows what the others have said but you should take from each of our guides and use them because I’m definitely sure that they will get you through the semester. All I can say is that some days will be good and some days will be bad, but you should never quit because one day. You’ll look back and remember all the good times you had and be glad that you had the opportunity to live through it. I can already tell you that you’re in good in hands because you’re taking this class with the best teacher you can have. She is the chilliest teacher bro or sis and you’ll have a marvelous time with her. Good luck and enjoy your time here at Cal State LA.

Sincerely,

A Freshman Dude

The Start to the Real World

Dear Freshman,

So it’s your freshman year of college, congratulations not many of us make it this far. This is the path you chose to take, you could’ve been anywhere, but you ended up here at CAL STATE LA. Maybe it was by choice or maybe it was you last choice, but here you are. Let me tell you about my experience, I hope you learn from my mistakes or maybe just gain a little inspiration to stay motivated and get through it. CAL STATE LA was not my first choice like many other students here. What made me come here was mainly that it is economical, I planned on being a commuter so I didn’t have to worry about paying tuition PLUS housing. I was able to save money that way, through losing out on the “college experience”, the experience of moving out and being independent. Now that I am experiencing this, I am glad I did not go away because my family has become my number one support system and and i’m grateful to have them by my side.

Here’s to my black and Latino, minority students, we are at a place where we are underrepresented, and you might feel like you don’t belong. During my first semester I constantly found myself in this situation, I felt like everyone else was smarter and knew more most likely because of their background. It is hard to adapt to this environment specially coming from a hispanic family and being a first generation student, in which you basically have to figure everything out on your own. Coming from a family that speaks mainly spanish comes to a disadvantage because other students could relate and discus common things they grew up with influenced by their parents.

Don’t think about giving up, it’s what you’ve been working for the last twelve years, to be able to go to college and better your education. Although, it might be hard, it will be worth it. I will keep working hard so that someday I could provide my children with the experience of having a well educated college graduate mom. Since, that has always been my parent's dream as well as mine. 

Sincerely ,  

A Freshman  

Just don't make my mistakes

Dear Incoming Freshman,

            You don’t know me and I don’t know you or what your background is or where you struggle, but I happen to be a pretty observant student, even If I’m not the most diligent. I lived on campus my first year, and with that I witnessed the myriad of problems my housemates struggled with, not to mention my own issues. Just to help you understand who I am, and possibly allow you to perhaps relate to me, I would like to introduce myself. I am an 18-year-old person who graduated high school from the class of 2017. I am a political science major who is sometimes lazy and very often anxious. You can see how these two things could possibly be a major problem. I hope by reflecting on my own first semester and the mistakes I made I can offer you some help.

            I moved into my dorm and made immediate friends with the majority of people in my dorm and everything was hunky-dory. I coasted through much of the first few weeks not realizing that I did in fact need to attend my stats class (even if the professor is nerdy and extremely boring). Please go to your super boring and seemingly irrelevant stats class or you might fail your midterm like I did! Woohoo!  I also learned that it takes a bit more effort to delete a class from your schedule than pressing a trash can button on the “my planner” section of my GET account. I had been enrolled in a History class at the start of my first semester, but after a single class I decided that the class wasn’t really for me so I decided to “drop” the class and add a Pan-African Studies class. This class helped me feel much more comfortable. It wasn’t until an advisement session that I realized that the history class was still on my schedule. I had to go through the hassle of getting a withdrawal slip and all the necessary signatures. These two things seem to be the major faux paus I went through my first semester.

I hope that you learned a bit of what not to do, and some odd little things to watch out for. Just try and keep your head up and work through any mistakes you may make. Things are typically not as bad as they seem, and whatever you’re worrying about is not the end of the world. You’re going to get through this.

Sincerely,

A student from the class of ‘21

            

New Beginnings

Dear Freshman,

This is your first year in college and for that I congratulate you, you have made it this far, now don't look back. Take a deep breath and applaud yourself because you've made it through all the college applications, SAT test and AP test and you survived high school. Now you are officially a golden eagle welcome to the family.

If you're like me you're excited but anxious about to fall out of your seat, you feel every emotion possible in your body that at the end you do not know how to feel. I'm not going to attempt to tell you what to do or not do because I firmly believe every individual learns from their own experiences. I simply wish to enlighten you on somethings I myself discovered in my first year of college.

My transition was difficult because I am first generation student which means I am the first in my family to attend a 4 year college. I knew the day I crossed the stage and my principal called my name that, that was the first of many of my accomplishments. My parents were very proud and so was I, I’ve never felt more empowered and unstoppable. Soon I realized that I was at a disadvantage by being the first in my family to go to college I had no guidance at home which meant I had to learn to deal with things at school on my own. This made me more independent and made me take everything more seriously. I learned to manage my time and sacrifice going out with my friends just to finish the essay I had due or finish that last math problem that was so difficult it made me cringe but satisfied when I knew I solved it and finished. I learned the importance of due dates, leaving my homework until the last minute was not an option because I deeply cherish my sleep. I learned to ask for help when I did not know what to do, I personally do not like being told what to do so I had to understand that it is only advice meant to help in order to improve.  

But please whatever you do, don't use the excuse of being a first generation student to give up on yourself. Please do not underestimate yourself. Please do not feel as if you are alone. Although the path may be tough you have all odd in your favor no one wants to witness your downfall, only desire your success. You have made it this far to doubt yourself, if you feel like you are in academic or nonacademic slump seek help, you're professors are always happy to help and there are also other alternatives such as the tutoring center that I myself discovered through a peer of mine and I could not be more grateful. That is one of many campus resources that is provided to students so don't be intimidated to seek out for help, when that is what they are intended for. I understand attending a new school is not only frightening but solitary. It's like starting all over, it’s  a new beginning but that does not mean that you are alone. Many students feel that way at first but sooner than later you will make friends, trust me. I was fortunate enough to cross paths with girls I knew from middle school but didn't really talk much, now were inseparable. If you are still having problems making friends you can consider joining a club or a sport but just know you are not alone.

Sincerely,

A Freshman