On my first day of classes as a UF transfer student, I wasn’t lost. I knew exactly where I was.
When I attended the transfer Preview in April 2013, I anxiously waited for it to end so that I could pick my classes.
I thought because I had moved from Miami to attend Santa Fe College, and I already knew the UF campus like the back of my hand, I had nothing to worry about. In some ways, this was true. But I wasn’t as ready as I thought.
I was a little fish (or Gator) in a sea of people who had already been here for a while, and it was going to be lonely at times.
After a year here, I can say: It gets better.
This school can be intimidating at first, but remember you’re a Gator too.
Whether it’s Greek life, the Gator Marching Band or even a publication, there’s something waiting to make you feel at home.
The only way you won’t transition into your new home is if you don’t try.
Most importantly, just because you made it to UF doesn’t mean it’s time for schoolwork to take a back seat. Put as much effort as you did trying to get into UF into your classes.
Make the most of your time in the Gator Nation. It’s your home for the next two (or more) years.
Ellen Villafuerte is a UF journalism senior and an Alligator copy desk chief.
[A version of this story ran on page 7 on 8/27/2014 under the headline "Being a transfer student can be hard — but it will be OK"]
