Start the New School Year the Friendly Way

I’m sure it probably has something to do with psychological conditioning since I went back to school every September for most of my adult life, but I love the feeling of having a fresh start at the beginning of each school year. On the one hand, you know what to expect because you’ve either chosen your courses or had a timetable provided for you, yet on the other hand you can’t be certain about what the future has in store.

Most advice that you read online or elsewhere about starting off on the right foot will focus on sundry things like organization and habit building (I agree these things are valuable), but don’t let such technical details come at the cost of human interactions. Your first day of classes can be overwhelming, especially if you’re starting at a new school. However, it’s also an amazing opportunity to meet new people.

If you think you don’t like meeting strangers or just don’t know what to say, remember that everyone around you is in the same program (or at least the same course). Classic small talk such as “where are you from?” or “what did you study before this program?” can help you discover more interesting points of conversation. Compliments also work well as icebreakers:  “I like your bag!”. If you’re technically inclined, maybe you can score points with strangers by helping them sync their email to their smartphones or even just connect to Wi-Fi. It’s a winning formula because people like being online and people like helpful people.

I couldn’t hide behind a smartphone when I started all of my programs (iPhones were new by the time I was starting law school), and I’m grateful for this because I count people whom I met on the very first day of each of my degrees among my lifelong friends. You have a golden opportunity to be someone’s first new friend on day one -- don’t waste it!

Photo by amira_a (CC BY)