As I close out my second year here at Berry, I can’t help but think about the freshmen who will be moving into traditional housing next fall as I move into a townhouse. I know a lot of incoming freshmen feel nervous moving away from home and don’t really know what to expect of a college lifestyle and I want to help you feel more comfortable, though the college living experience is different for everyone. When I moved to Berry from Florida, I too didn’t really know what living with someone else would be like or how a communal bathroom would affect my lifestyle (which is much more than originally anticipated). In retrospect, the transition was easy. The meeting of the roommate is probably the most stressful of the entire ordeal. The most important thing you should remember when you meet you roommate(s), whom you probably will not know as an incoming freshman, is that he/she is just as scared as you are.

Some of you also might be wondering what it’s like to live in a dorm. It’s not that bad in all honesty. Yeah, your bed is smaller and less comfortable than you might like it (I highly suggest bringing a foam cover-top to remedy at least one of those issues, it makes all the difference) and you may not like the fact that you can hear whatever your next-door neighbors are up to, but you get used to it. Right now I live in a room right next to the showers where I can hear the water running (which is all the time because, apparently, people need to bathe at 2AM) and every bathroom door slamming, but I tuned that out after a week. Speaking of bathrooms, you’re probably still curious about what it’s like to have to share a shower that fifty other people use on a daily basis. It’s definitely not the best part about dorm life. You have to deal with the occasional clogged faucet or drain and a kind of grossness that comes from heavy use, so wear your shower shoes!

As far as decorating your room goes, you’re basically given free reign as long as you don’t nail anything into the wall. Personally, my room is pretty plain in comparison to some of the other girls’ rooms on campus, but it makes me feel at home. Seriously, I’ve seen some really elaborate stuff from couches and entertainment centers to decorative lights and full size, Persian rugs. I think that some people, especially freshmen, bring way too much with them their first year. You really don't need floor lamps and a deer head on the wall (I'm not kidding, it was tacked up with two rolls of double-sided tape) in your room. My freshman year, I saw someone drive onto campus in a U-Haul truck and I just thought it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen. I learned from my first year that I don't actually need to bring a bookcase with me...it's not like you have time to read for pleasure anyway.

Okay, so when you move onto campus you’re guaranteed a few things: a bed, a desk, a dresser of some sort, a chair, and a closet (which could also be a wardrobe, depending on where you live). You can arrange all of the furniture however you want, only don’t try to bunk them if your beds don’t have the capability because it violates some sort of safety regulation, psh (but seriously, don’t bunk your beds if they don’t lock together safely, you'll have a bad time). You can definitely bring a mini-fridge (I highly recommend doing so) and there is at least one kitchen in every building, so you can cook if you would like, but try not to burn popcorn at two in the morning because it will set the fire alarm off and everyone will be mad at you. Also, there is a laundry facility in every building and you no longer need quarters to use the machines, but don't be that guy and take up three washing machines at a time because you haven't done laundry in three weeks. My recommendation: don't do laundry on Sunday night (it can get a little crazy).

I know that moving away from home is a scary thought, especially if you’re moving far away. However, it’s a great step in your life that will enable you to learn some life lessons such as coping with other people and cooking your own food.

Below I have a list of some items you will definitely want to consider bringing for your room:

• A comfy foam piece for the top of your mattress, make sure it fits a Twin XL
• Linens (comforter, two sets of sheets, pillows, pillow cases, towels etc.)
• Storage containers short enough to go under the bed
  
• Hangers (more commonly forgotten than you might think)
• A mini-fridge (because sometimes D-Hall isn't open)
• A desk lamp
• Some artwork or personal effects so you feel at home
• Tape and sticky tack
• A fan
• A laundry hamper

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Being a Berry student is easy. Hah, who am I kidding? Being a college student is hard work any way you slice it. Berry is no exception. In fact, I think it’s fair to say that the faculty here really pushes us students to new levels of education. Each major is, of course, different, but Berry does put a strong emphasis on writing and critical thinking, so everyone has their fair share of essays to do. As an English major, I’m subjugated to a boatload of reading homework (200 pages or more every night), but that’s spread out between the four English classes I’m taking this semester (which is highly unusual and I don’t recommend it unless you want to graduate early or something crazy like that), but the college academic experience is different for everyone.

Now, I’m friends with all sorts of people with a smorgasbord of majors and minors, so I’ve seen the good, bad, and the ugly when it comes to homework, quizzes, papers, and tests.  I myself usually have to worry about reading quizzes and long essays, but my friends have suffered the grueling triple test day, or the double essay with a quiz combo—none of it’s pretty and it all usually results in a higher intake of caffeine. I think the worst part about college is pulling an all-nighter. I myself have done it twice in my entire college career, but I’ve known many who’ve pulled multiple all-nighters in this semester alone.

So, this is where I give my advice to any incoming freshmen or current college goers who haven’t figured it out yet: don’t put anything off. There’s a reason I’m so stress-free at the end of the semester during finals while everyone else is running around screaming and it is this: I get it done ahead of time. It doesn’t sound like a big deal or even that impressive of a strategy, but it works like a charm. Okay, here are a few tips to make you a college pro:

1. Get a planner and keep up with it (this is probably the most important/hardest part)
2. The day you get your syllabi, fill out your planner with as much as you can. Meaning, if the test dates or essay due dates are listed, write them down in your planner and then post them somewhere else in your room that you see every day (like a calendar).
3. Look at your planner every day and highlight/check off the things you’ve done.
4. Make sure important events are plainly visible and leave yourself notes one or two weeks before an assignment is due.
5. Don’t cram for a test the night before (okay, this might be the hardest part). Study a little bit every night the week before a test and review the night before with someone else, preferably someone who is taking the class with you. You’ll be a lot less stressed and you’ll be able to go to bed at a decent time.
6. If you’ve finished working on an essay, let someone else read it and give you some feedback or fix some small spelling/grammar errors you may have made (a second pair of eyes can really help—especially if your eyes are tired from writing).
7. Absorb the information you're learning in class, don’t let it go in one ear and out the other—this tactic will serve you well when it’s time for finals.

Of course, those are only a few tips that will help you be a successful student at Berry (or any college really). If you are feeling really overwhelmed or don’t know where to start on a project, talk to your professor. Berry’s professors are very good at understanding when it comes to stressed-out students and will try to work with you to make your life a little bit easier. So, the moral of the story, don’t let yourself get bogged down by your academics. The more you stay ahead of the curve, the better you’ll feel. I promise you, it’s no fun gambling about campus like a zombie because of an all-nighter. Been there, done that, and I have no desire to be there again.

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So many people have blogs these days that are about their lives and talk about the trials and everyday tasks that everyone can relate to in some way. I myself have had such trials and tribulations, as well as grand occurrences, that those who are younger and who were once young can relate to in one way or another. My name is Bailey Merlin (yes, like the wizard—we traced the genealogy) and I am a sophomore and English major on the beautiful campus of Berry College in Mt. Berry, GA.

Now, this is the part where I tell you a little bit about myself before I divulge all the secrets of college life. It won’t take too long, I promise. Okay, I’m nineteen years old, I come from a family of seven, I am English major (as I stated above), and I love video games. That’s about all you need to know about me. Anything else that is important will undoubtedly come out somewhere in this blog, so we’ll just cross that bridge when we get to it.

But you’re here to know more about Berry through the eyes of a student. I’ll be happy to oblige. One of the first questions that you’ll be asked after, “What’s your major?!” is: “How did you hear about Berry?” In most cases, the students who already live in Georgia will tell you about a friend of a friend of friend whose mom who went to Berry, which gets them intrigued enough to look up the school, and then the show is over because our campus is beautiful. Then, they set up a tour and then the fat lady sings because you can’t come here and not see that it’s one of the prettiest campuses in America.

However, my story is a little different. I’m from Pensacola, FL, about 300 miles from Berry College, and I had never heard of it even once. In my senior of high school, my class counselor came around to give the students information on colleges in our English classes (don’t ask me why). Well, she was going through the schools so rapidly that I wrote down “Berry College” when she briefly spoke about a liberal arts’ college instead of  writing down “Eckerd College,” which had been the college she had apparently said beforehand. I take this little mistake as the hand of Fate. I was meant to find Berry. After that, I met with a Berry representative who had sent all of her children here and hadn’t regretted a single second of it. She showed me pictures and pamphlets and went on about the great aspects of the school. As I said, you see a picture of the campus and you’re hooked. So, I scheduled a tour, went with my mom to visit, and I was a goner. Hook, line, and sinker.

You might be asking if that’s all Berry is about: the campus. I’m not going to say that the grounds aren’t a large part of the charm, because they are; but the appeal of Berry goes way beyond that. Now, I’m from a place where most college-bound kids go off to FSU or UCF and become lost in a sea of thousands of other students where the professor can’t possibly learn your name and the line for the cafeteria is endless. I myself wanted something a little bit more than that. I wanted my work to be given a real going over so I could grow as an intellectual and a writer (very important to us English majors), and I got exactly what I wanted at Berry. There are about two thousand students here, which sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t. The small number of students gives the professors the opportunity to have a lot of one-on-one conversations with them. Yeah, I know, that sounds canned, but it’s true. I haven’t had a class with more than twenty-five students in it and all of my professors thus far have been very helpful and interested in me as a person. I don’t think I could go to any other school at this point.

Also, before I end this thing, I want to dissipate any delusions some may have about the Berry Bubble. One, it is a common misconception that Berry is basically an all girls’ school. That is a falsehood. There are boys on this campus. Two, if you don’t think that there are really more deer than students, you have been misinformed. Three, some believe there is nothing to do on a college campus and that they have to go elsewhere for entertainment. This is probably the biggest lie that has ever been told, at least in correlation with Berry. There is always something going on at Berry, especially on the weekends. The student organizations do a great job of putting on some really spectacular extracurricular activities—most notably Marthapalooza. However, that’s just one of the events; there are constantly speakers, movies, game nights, readings, live music, and, oh, the free food.

Every moment at Berry has been exciting. I have learned a great deal, made fantastic friends, and gained real world experiences that will help me later on in my professional life. But, of course, to live at Berry is to “Experience it Firsthand.”

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