I bet y'all are so excited right now. I remember when I was in your shoes. I was on cloud nine. I knew I was headed to a great college, I had a couple of scholarships under my belt, I was about to graduate and get out of my momma's house-- everything was perfect.
Well trust me, it only gets better from here. Sure, the next four months will be somewhat stressful. This is to be expected with any major lifestyle change. Still, Oxford College is all about making the transition from high school to college as smooth as silk.
One of the best aspects of your orientation experience will be meeting your PALs. PALs or Peer Assistance Leaders are your orientation leaders, freshman seminar teachers, and (hopefully) longtime friends who are committed to making your first year experience awesome.
I remember when I had my first PAL sighting at orientation. We were driving into the little village of Oxford and I saw all these people in bright blue t-shirts jumping up and down, waving, and screaming. They were holding signs that pointed the way to Oxford and looked very excited about their job. The next sighting came on the quadrangle. The all marched across the quad yelling Emory fight songs and the Alma Mater. Their school spirit was admirable but for an introverted little freshie like myself I found them to be a bit frightening at first.
No need to worry, though! Never fear, your PAL is here! The PALs made my transition wonderfully easy. You're assigned a PAL group on the first day of orientation that you'll send a lot of time with. You'll eat dinner with them and go to activities with them and hopefully make a new friend or two along the way.
Once orientation is over and you register for freshman seminar you'll get to take a class taught by a PAL and an Oxford faculty member. During this time you'll get to meet more awesome friends and learn a lot about yourself and others.
Your PALs, along with other student leaders, will your ultimate buddies on campus and I hope you'll take your first few months at Oxford as an opportunity to get to know and love them as they'll know and love you back :)
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