Hello freshman! You thought this day would never come, didn’t you? Well, it is here! You are finally in college, a place where all your academic dreams will come true.

At Stony Brook University, it is required that all freshman students, in order to receive credit for their freshman seminar class, go to academic or social events sponsored by Stony Brook University and approved by whatever quad they were assigned to before the year started.

It is the horror we have all heard about, and the threat that hangs over the heads of all incoming college students: the 'Freshman Fifteen.' A myth that is as old as college itself, it claims that every student's first year at school will be greeted with a large gain in weight. But fear not, because despite what you have heard, the freshman fifteen is completely fictitious.

The term “freshman year” has the tendency to elicit the response of a sort of pained laugh. This occurs not only for current university students, but also for anyone who attended their first year of college. The phrase has become a subject of suppressed memory, and apparently, even hysteria. Because of this expression’s association with crippling discomfiture and inexperience, an entire year’s worth of recollection eventually becomes horrendously funny. If there were any appropriate motto to subscribe to when entering University, it would be to just laugh through the grief- nervous, restrained laughter.

As a new resident transfer student, I can confidently say that so far, it seems that I have made the right choice with this school. However, there is one situation that had me stressing out during the entire first week of classes that I thought might be worth sharing.

It is that time of year when first-year students are welcomed to Stony Brook University to—as the banners around campus say—begin this “incredible journey” in their academic careers.

College students who have a deep curiosity and affection for learning new materials and concepts are welcome to take interesting and appealing D.E.C. courses, which are part of a Diversified Education Curriculum that allows students to develop knowledge and comprehension of study provided by their major during their first year at Stony Brook University.