The freshman experience proves to be one of the biggest adjustments for most incoming students. Balancing an academic life and social life while trying to maintain a certain level of personal wellbeing is not easy. The following study of freshman life combines visual scenes from East Campus as well as the purest forms of social media expression: excerpts from the infamous "anonymous Twitter," Yik Yak.
This photo series is the third of three projects showing what a new Blue Devil might experience in his or her first semester on campus, through the eyes of one new freshman photographer each day. Take a look at Part I and Part II.
1. “Due to lack of interest, Monday will be cancelled.”
2. “Had no idea the social aspect of college would be harder than the academics.”
3. “Still having trouble understanding how I feel so lucky yet so inadequate knowing the people in my class.”
4. “Me freshman year first semester: ‘I failed a midterm, I failed at life, I don’t belong here. I should just give up and go back home.’ Me second semester and beyond: ‘Well. It happened again.’”
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5. “The first thing I do when I get out of bed is calculate the number of hours until I can get back in bed.”
6. “About once a month I take a ‘personal day’ where I skip all my classes and watch Netflix. I think it’s a positive thing for my mental/emotional well being.”
7. “‘You going out tonight?’ ‘Nope, I’ve got a lot of work which I’m not going to do.’”
8. “There should be a day between Saturday and Sunday.”
9. “Ice cream for dinner tonight because I am an adult.”
10. “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”
Lesley Chen-Young is a first-year student from the Washington, D.C. metro area. Taking the world by storm, she is determined to travel to as many countries as possible throughout her lifetime.