College Orientation

08/18/2016

  As if it wasn't self-explanatory enough, today was my New Student College Orientation. I have been looking forward to it ever since I touched down New York. The wait is over! 

  I drove to Riverhead for the very first time. Riverhead is like an hour away from my place, East Hampton. It's what I call the 'Big Road'. I have never driven that far alone but today, I did! I reached SCCC an hour early. I took the time to visit the bookstore and let me tell you, the books are not cheap! Fortunately, we have the option to rent the books. 

  SCCC does serve a lot of facilities and resources. I can't compare to colleges/universities back home but I definitely do feel comfortable in SCCC. 

  The weather this morning was overcast with a slight drizzle. I wore ripped jeans for the first time today, believe it or not. Fast Forward. I got there and went to the concierge to inquire about my 10 AM orientation at Corchaug building. I had an hour to kill. 

  I went to the bookstore to check the books and some SCCC merchandise. There was a little section with ELF cosmetics! (for emergencies you know) I got myself a blue t-shirt that says SUFFOLK on it to compensate for a shirt I lost this Spring, it'll show up one way or the other. I got a lanyard card holder for my ID, I wish I hadn't taken my picture last summer with my botched up bleached hair. Oh well. 

  10:00AM: I headed to the Corchaug building which was a low rise building beside the massive library. Inside, there were a lot of people. Anxiety starts acting up. Everyone was super awkward, I have to admit. Then, this man in a purple nurse's suit comes walking in and calls himself Dr. Love. He even wore a snapback with Dr. Love embroidered on it. He cracked a joke about how all the students were holding up the building together because literally everyone was leaning on the wall. Someone asked Dr. Love how he was and he said this- 

Chillin' like a villain on penicillin makin' a killin' 

  Definitely got a good laugh out of everyone in the corridor. We were all assigned to our designated rooms. I didn't realize everyone in Room 008 had already entered and taken a seat, I was the slowpoke. Chairs were all arranged in a circle, it almost felt like an intervention! We introduced ourselves, everyone had graduated high school locally and there was me, the odd one out who graduated in Malaysia (p.s. I was proud of being an international student). Later, I should've seen it coming. We had an ice breaking session! We had a couple of ice breaking games and I got to know really cool people. Unfortunately, I can't remember names but I'll say hi to you on campus! 

  At this point, I wasn't looking at the time but I assumed it was 11 AM - 12 PM ish and all the new students gathered to the open field where a tent was set up. A couple of welcome speeches were given by the faculty and Deans. I have never felt so welcomed before. Heck, even kindergarten didn't feel this welcoming! 

  Towards the end of the welcoming 'ceremony', a special guest was invited to give a talk. Her name is Hilary Corna and she is the author of the book One White Face. She is also a TED speaker. She shared her experiences throughout life and the decisions she had to make to get to where she is now. The keyword throughout her whole talk, which I grasped was the word 'dare'. 

  Dare yourself to do something. If someone opposes your idea, let that provoke you into doing it. Dare yourself to dream. Dare yourself to be the self you have always dreamed of being. Keep in mind, with every dare you take on, you have to make sacrifices because sacrifices are inevitable.  Let next decision you make your next dare. 

  Hilary has definitely opened a new train of thought for me. Her talk was indeed what every freshman needed. Classes officially begin on the 29th and I'm feeling so gung-ho to attend classes and join clubs! The best part is that I can come up with a club of my own too! 

  I guess this means there will be a Thila's College Diaries segment on my blog soon! 

thilamisu