I’d love to say I waltzed into College on orientation day with breezy flair, but anyone with eyes would have seen my haphazard wandering and thought otherwise. Over last year, though, I  gleaned fragments of knowledge about how this place works. Thus, neatly categorised (but not referenced) I present some vital tricks I learned as a thirst first year.

FOOD

• If it’s doughnuts for dessert, take as many as you can, in case there’s an apocalypse.
• Be aware (as I know most of you are) that KFC is 10 minutes away should it be Fasian.
• Just brunch.

MONEY

• Take advantage of a good, free home-cooked meal. Note that ‘free’ is the key term here; it doesn’t have to be food, or good.
• Don’t have a car. If you haven’t heard my $150 seatbelt story, you’re part of a very fortunate minority.

STUDY

• For a 3am adrenaline rush, leave all your referencing til the last minute.
• For those with more methodical habits, allow half an hour for Turnitin to receive your assessment, as College Wi-Fi is as reliable as its electricity during a storm.

SPORT

• This is where Tuesday and Wednesday nights become the perfect procrastination aids.
• Wearing workout gear everywhere won’t fool people into thinking you’re a hard-core-gym-junkie (I may have tried this already).

SOCIALISING

• (See first dot-point under ‘Sport’)*
• ‘Shower parties’ seem to be intrinsic to on-campus culture, although I’m still unsure about what actually defines one. I do know, however, that it varies greatly between Watson and Ella.

And finally, sharing is caring. I’ve learned that girls who play together, stay together. Girls who also eat, sleep, study, cry, laugh, stress, dress and pray together form a bond that comes very close to sisterhood. (I can’t really account for the intricacies of Watson bonding, but I’m thinking along the lines of in-house haircuts and off milk). Something else I’ve learned is the beauty of relationships. Marital ones, if you want to ‘pass’ Avondale, but more importantly, real friendships, and I am so glad to have found these in my #avondalexp.

*It’s a given that “Ball is [social] Life”

-Sharna Kosmeier