Note to Self

Name: Aafia Ali Khan

Year: 3rd Year

Major: Psychology

Starting my undergraduate experience at UCR was definitely an exciting moment in my life. I still remember just walking around campus and going into different buildings like the Goldman Library or sitting outside the School of Medicine just to see the different kinds of people around, as well as marvel at how big UCR was. I think it was pretty obvious at times though that I was a first year, especially because I would wear the UCR lanyard with my keys around my neck.

That being said, coming into college I only had one or two friends from back home who came to UCR with me. It didn’t help that we didn’t have any of the same classes or lived in the same dorm. I was worried that my college experience wouldn’t be as great as I had imagined. I’m inherently a shy person and it takes me time to make friends. But once I do, I open up and become much more lively and talkative.

Once I moved into my dorm and met my roommates, I knew that college would be a great experience for me because I made genuine friends. Though we did have different tastes and ideas, we shared common values. Having friends back in my dorm, gave me confidence to make more outside of the dorm. I started talking to people in my psyc classes, attended events on campus, and I even joined a lab.

Looking back now, I want to tell my freshman self - It’s not about how many friends you make, it’s actually about creating long lasting bonds with people (if that means having 5 genuine friends then so be it). You don’t need to have 500 friends to have a fun college experience. College is what you make of it. Go out of your comfort zone; it may be uncomfortable at first, but trust me you’ll thank yourself later.

#whotellsyourstory #psychology #friendships