The First Step

STORY BY MADDY SOMMERVILLE
PHOTOS BY MADDY SOMMERVILLE

Hanging out with friends in the commons is always a good stress relief.

Amid the hustle and bustle of a new semester at Sheridan, there are new faces in the crowd – first years. And while for the many who have roamed halls and passageways of our three campuses in previous years, it can be easy to pick out the newcomers. They’re often the ones looking stressed and overwhelmed.

Robyn Jackson is one such first year. The Early Childhood Education student finds herself “freaked out.”

“I’m worried about not being able to get things done in time,” she told the Sun in an email interview. “I’m worried I won’t understand.

Jackson says she knows to go to student services if she needs help but that alone hasn’t chased away the butterflies. Although a 2009 high school graduate, she says college is a very different vibe. Yet despite her fears, she’s excited to be at Sheridan.

“I want to gain a lot of experience in my field and to make some friends.” she says.

Other first years are less nervous; some are wildly excited.

Rahul Gupta is one of them. As a first year Software Development and Network Engineering student, the only questions he has are about his co-ops and whether they will be beneficial.

“My first week was awesome. I made some new friends and I want to make more,” he said. The international student may be a bit of an anomaly among first years, someone just genuinely excited not worried about the coming weeks to follow.

Everyone has different fears, wants and concerns for this year. Whether it is procrastination or misunderstanding or even a fear of not making friends, the main wants seems to be a desire to make friends.

In Sarah Dessen’s book Someone Like You, there is a quote that perhaps expresses what the first years feel “Life is an awful, ugly place to not have a best friend.”

Carolyn Hart is a Technical Production for Theatre and Live Events student. Having studied at York University and a returning Sheridan student, she still has her worries.

“Time management. I’ve not always been the best with it and this is the kind of program where procrastination can destroy you.” she says. “So I need to make sure to keep on top of everything.”

Meeting new people for her is more nerve-wracking than starting a new educational career and of course the workload she is expecting is slightly distressing.

“I started scheduling everything and starting on homework immediately.” she said.

Hart doesn’t feel she will use student services this year.

“I tend to be better working things out myself. Usually programs like that [her’s in example] have textbook ways of solving various issues and I don’t often find those kinds of things helpful.” she said.