Real tips for college in Logan
In the flood of college prep material you’re currently wading through, the tips section likely resembles a bag of chips, taking up a lot of space without satisfying your appetite. “Get involved!” Well, duh. Please go to Day on the Quad. But if those vague crisps of advice are all that’s being shoved on your plate, you’re going to starve, and not just because you can now only afford Top Ramen. Consider me your underqualified chef for the next five minutes as I pull a Remy and whip you up a ratatouille of real advice. If you are feeling supremely confident about the upcoming year, congrats! You can probably skip this article. If you’re a bit more nervous than you’re trying to admit, however, listen up. The following tips are, admittedly, quite niche, but that’s exactly why I swear by them.
Go to $5 Tuesday at the Megaplex.
As someone who really enjoys movies, I might be biased in my love for $5 Tuesday. But that isn’t going to stop me from telling you to go enjoy a night out as well. Part of the appeal of $5 Tuesday is it really does happen every Tuesday, and one of the best things about college is the chance to make new routines and traditions. Especially if you get two days into the week and don’t think you can muster up another page of notes, $5 Tuesday is a fantastic boost to make it through. My roommates and I pulled up at the Megaplex nearly every week during fall semester, and it was fun every single time. PS: Both the Logan and the Providence theaters are very chill and approachable, so you can take yourself on a date and not feel weird about it.
Always make a reservation at Herm’s.
In case you haven’t heard, Logan is a breakfast town. Bored? Go to breakfast. Parents visiting? Go to breakfast. Wake up at 11 the morning after the Howl? Go to breakfast. Between Angie’s, Herm’s, Denny’s, IHOP, Stacked, The Crepery, Crumb Brothers 1, Crumb Brothers 2, The Waffle Iron and Bloom, you could get breakfast every week in Logan and never order the same thing. So, a warning in preparation for your upcoming year of breakfast and brunch: you won’t be the only one ordering pancakes. The reason why there are so many AM restaurants in our town of sleepy college students is everyone else — not just me — also enjoys going to get breakfast. You can’t go anywhere, and by anywhere, I mean Herm’s, with a party of more than 3 on a weekend without a reservation, so plan ahead.
Go grocery shopping after 9 p.m.
Even if you don’t have a full kitchen in your dorm or apartment, you should still go grocery shopping every once in a while — buy some grapes or something. But for those freshman who, like I once did, will have to learn very quickly how to feed themselves independently every day, you will get to go grocery shopping often. So, find a grocery store you like! My personal favorite is WinCo, and I will shout that from the rooftops (and my “I love WinCo Foods” t-shirt) until the day I die, but I occasionally frequent Walmart, and I would like to be married to the Smith’s discount bakery rack. It’s in the back by the dairy section; you can thank me later. Lee’s and Macey’s are great options as well. Anyway, find a grocery store you like, and be strategic about when you go — unless you have an extra three hours on hand, don’t go anywhere near Main Street at 5 p.m. If it’s halfway through the week and the thought of going to the store after class makes you want to cry, go at 9 p.m. I’m serious. The store will be considerably less busy and you, therefore, will be considerably less stressed. I learned my final grocery shopping tip from my mom, and it is to get yourself a treat. Not one for later in the week, but one for the second you get in your car. Stop by Dutch Bros on your way home or grab some SourPatch Watermelons at checkout. Grocery shopping is hard, so please get a treat and give yourself a hug.
Call someone once a week.
Now, before you skip this entire section, hear me out. There are few things I love more than the independence of college. You can start over completely if you want. If your high school experience or home life was bad, and college is an escape from that, please feel free to become brand new. For many of you, however, your hometown hopefully has some good memories attached. So, even though you’re excited about branching out, don’t forget to reach back in every once in a while. If you have high school friends at a different university, call them on your walk home. When you make a successful meal or pass a test or meet a new friend, call someone – your mom, your grandpa, your favorite high school teacher. Make sure you’re staying in touch with your pit crew. They care about you, so be careful not to leave them in the dust.
Appreciate campus.
In my professional opinion, the Merrill-Cazier Library is the best place on campus to study, take lecture notes, nap or cry in the bathroom. No, I am definitely not speaking from personal experience here. Pick a spot on the main floor atrium if you want great reading light and a little more background noise; head up to the fourth-floor desks next to the bookshelves if you prefer near-silence. The cubicles on the second floor are fantastic if you are distracted easily — they literally corral your eyes towards your laptop. And when you find yourself in a study slump come October, change your location. Move to a different floor of the library or go check out the foyer of a building you’ve never been in before. The BNR is one of my favorite places to work in the evening, and the Huntsman is always well-lit in the morning. I am going to shamelessly gatekeep my favorite study spot — if you really want to know, send me an email and I’ll tell you. For those of you who like the coffee shop chatter, check out the mini Starbucks in the Life Science building, and if you need some fresh air, head to the Quad or to the HPER (turn right down the main hallway and go into the small courtyard.) These are just some my own favorites out of dozens of great places on campus, so don’t be afraid to explore!
Take a weird class.
If you haven’t already guessed, now is as good of a time as ever to tell you I’m an English major. I do fine with math and science, but I just don’t find them nearly as exciting as drafting and editing a paper. This strange affinity of mine meant when it came time for me to choose a Breadth Physical Science class, I dragged my feet. Luckily, I dragged them right into the lecture hall of what would become one of my favorite classes — astronomy, or PHYS 1040 in the catalog. I am not a physics major, nor am I tall enough to ever become an astronaut — it’s tough out here to be sub-5’2” — so choosing to take astronomy was probably not the most practical choice. Regardless, I loved it. Space is absolutely fascinating, and a science class turned out to be a welcome break from the Shakespeare and Jane Austen I was neck deep in at the time. I don’t care how much you love your major-specific classes — please take something weird. Try your hand at swing dancing, bowling, history, accounting, anything that stretches you. It will help you keep loving those major-specific classes, and you will come to appreciate college for what it really should be: a place to learn.
The first year of college is nothing if not a rollercoaster: super fun, super scary, and much better with a friend or two than it is alone. Embrace the opportunity to try something new, whether it’s friends, hairstyles, majors, or one-pot pasta recipes. Final words: you’re going to be just fine. And if you aren’t, I promise there are people here in Logan to support you. I hope your first year is filled with beautiful sunsets, funny movies, and curved test grades. Go Aggies!
-maren.archibald@usu.edu
Featured photo by Bailey Rigby