By Duke Staff
As an attractive, educated group of editors here at The Duke, we know a thing or two about relationships. Especially relationships one might come across during their college career. You will be meeting all kinds of people, and we thought it would be helpful to give advice on interacting with them, while also not losing touch with the relationships you’ve already formed. Think of us as your older brother.
You can already see the cliques forming. The girls on the fourth floor of Ann’s act as if they’ve known each other for life. Two teams worth of guys play a pick-up game out on the court. And you? You’ve been hanging out with your roommate for the majority of the week. It’s great you guys take silly Webcam pictures all day, but don’t forget to go out and meet new people.
But you’re shy or having a bad hair day. You’re not even from this country. Making new friends is so much harder for you than others.
Wrong. Everyone gets nervous about meeting new people.
Go out to Rooney Field with a frisbee and stop to ask others if they want to play. Wear your favorite band t-shirt then see if anyone stops to compliment you. There’s over 1,550 of you alone, guaranteed someone else out there likes Fall Out Boy as much as you.
Now that you’ve made all these new friends what do you do with the old ones? The ones from high school, summer camp or that part time job? Stay in contact with your comrades! Hang up old photos of you guys together. Post on their walls. Text or even ask them to visit. A personal favorite of ours is sending snail mail. Nothing beats a handwritten letter.
The last kind of relationship you’ll find yourself speaking with is the older crowd. You would be surprised at the amount of interaction with different generations a student requires. New teachers, advisors, bosses and older students will be treating you like an adult.
So act like one. Email your professor when you sleep in. Call your mother every once in a while. When your new job throws a Halloween party, don’t show up as Katy Perry from that ‘California Girls’ music video. You know what we’re talking about.
When you look back on these next few years will you remember them with fondly or regret staying in? Don’t let your nerves get the best of you. Don’t forget about the people before college. And most of all, don’t forget why you chose Duquesne. You wanted to further your education. Classes come first, but who says study groups can’t be fun?
