杰茜卡·金

Goodbye parents， hello freedom！ It’s time to make that big transition to college. But before you start celebrating， prepare yourself for the issues that might spring up when dealing with campus life.

Freshman year of college means moving to a strange environment. You have to juggle1 roommates， new friends， and clubs， not to mention getting to class on time and making the passing grade. There are a few common issues that most freshmen have to address.

Roommates

If there’s one thing students are the most anxious about， it’s meeting their new roommate. Contact your roommate via e-mail or Facebook before you even set foot on campus. You’ll be able to find out likes， dislikes， or even what he or she plans to bring for the room in the fall. It will be helpful to have someone on campus that you’ve already talked with—even if it means just going to the first few freshman social events together.

Not everyone is going to get along with their roommate. We’ve all heard horror stories， like the guy who never showers or the girl who parties at 4：00 a.m. on a Tuesday. It may take longer for you to get to know someone， and that’s okay！ You don’t have to be your roommate’s BFF2; you just need to be cordial and respectful. If you find that you have completely different personalities， look at it as a learning opportunity.

Search for common ground to bond over. “One of my original roommates and I didn’t get along at first，” says Michael Nadeau， a 2005 graduate of Ramapo College in Mahwah， New Jersey. “He was a total right-wing conservative; I was a bleeding-heart3 liberal. We had a lot of arguments at first， but then we got along when we just decided to talk football instead. Eight years later， I’m going to be one of the groomsmen at his wedding.”

It’s a good idea to sit down and have a one-on-one talk at the beginning of the year and set down some ground rules. You should discuss things like music， sleeping schedules， and study habits. And remember—be open to compromise！

Finally， if the issues start to pile up and you find yourself not able to work it out， find a person to help you. Resident assistants and advisors are there to mediate and guide you. Don’t turn to a room reassignment right away—part of the college experience is learning to tackle tough issues！

The freshman 15

Everyone’s heard of the alleged 15 pounds freshmen gain when they move onto campus， and many college students worry about falling out of shape.

Now， more than ever， dining halls are offering healthier foods. Most schools have a sandwich or home-style meal option as well （like roast chicken and vegetables）. It’s all about making the right choices and never overdoing it.

Exercise is essential to avoid the freshman 15， as well. To get in motion， you can join a club or intramural4 sport， go to the gym （it’s free at most schools?。?or just take the stairs instead of the elevator and walk to class instead of taking the bus.

Scheduling time

In college， there’s certainly going to be a lot for you to do—between classes， clubs， and the social scene， your schedule will be full！

The best thing to keep in mind is that you are not going to make it to every club meeting， party， or night out. Sometimes you need to stay in and study or write that paper. There are going to be plenty of nights to hang out with friends， but it will be hard to bring a failing grade up to a passing one.

To make sure you have enough time to study， gather all the syllabi you get from teachers in your first classes. Create a calendar by compiling a comprehensive list of every paper， test， and presentation you have to complete for the semester. Once your studies are mapped out5， it’s easy to find the times when you know you’ll have to buckle down6， or the times when you have a little more freedom.

When you figure out which clubs and sports teams you want to join， find out what their meeting/practice schedules are like. Pick and choose a few clubs you want to focus on and make them your priority. Once you’re comfortable with your schedule， you can try to add a few more things， one at a time.

If you get a little overwhelmed， go to your professors and ask for an extension （don’t do this too often， or they won’t grant you one?。?or talk to a club advisor and let them know what’s going on. Everyone gets a little behind once in a while， so most advisors and professors are understanding.

Common dorm woes

There is a general lack of privacy when you’re living on campus. Freshman dorms mostly have communal bathrooms， so if you’re modest， bring a bathrobe to cover up while you’re walking down the hall. But don’t be surprised if others are simply covered in a towel. You might have to live with the opposite sex on the same floor， which is becoming more and more popular at schools like the University of Maryland in College Park， who even have gender-neutral housing in which any students can live together， regardless of sex. Conversely， you might have to deal with the fact that the opposite sex isn’t allowed on your floor after certain hours. Just remember that each university and each person has a different idea about what is appropriate. If something truly makes you uncomfortable， mention it to an RA so they can rectify the situation. Otherwise， try to roll with the punches7. It makes handling problems a lot less stressful.

Many students struggle with their newfound freedom （or occasional lack thereof） in dorm life. Mom and Dad are not there to make sure you stay out of trouble. You will have autonomy that most students don’t experience while they’re under their parents’ watchful gaze. You will most likely have the opportunity to party， sleep in， skip classes， and stay out late. Though many students take advantage of the lack of restrictions， consider the impact of your actions on your grades， health， and reputation. Just try to make good decisions.

Living on campus is supposed to prepare you for the “real world，” and the four years spent at college will be the fastest of your life. You won’t have your mom to do your laundry or dad to fix the light bulb （tip： bring light bulbs to campus so you don’t have to wait for maintenance to turn your lights on）. This is an exciting step towards independence. You’ll have a lot more responsibility for yourself， and if you handle it well， you’ll have a wonderful college experience.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?■

爸媽再見，自由你好！該邁出走向大學(xué)的重要一步了。但在開始慶祝之前，請做好準備，應(yīng)對校園生活中可能出現(xiàn)的一些問題。

上大學(xué)的第一年，你將遷入一個陌生的環(huán)境。你需要同時處理好與室友和新朋友之間的關(guān)系、安排好俱樂部的活動，不必說還要準時上課、拿到合格的成績。以下是大多數(shù)大學(xué)新生都要應(yīng)對的幾個問題。

室友

如果說學(xué)生們對哪件事最焦慮，那就是跟他們的新室友見面了。在進入校園之前通過電子郵箱或者臉書跟室友取得聯(lián)系，你將了解到對方喜歡什么、不喜歡什么，甚至可以知道他/她準備在秋季帶什么東西入住。在校園里有這么一個已經(jīng)跟你聊過天的人會很有用——即使你們只是一起參加幾個新生社交活動。

并非所有人都能和室友融洽相處。我們都聽說過一些可怕的故事，比如某男生從不洗澡，或者某女生周二凌晨四點還在開派對。也許你需要花更長時間才能了解某個人，這完全沒問題。你不一定和室友成為摯友，只要親切有禮就好。如果發(fā)現(xiàn)你們個性截然不同，就把相處當作一次學(xué)習(xí)的機會吧。

尋找你和室友之間的共同點，拉近彼此的距離?！皠傞_始，我和我最早的室友之一處得并不好。”邁克爾·納多說，他2005年從位于新澤西州莫沃市的拉馬波學(xué)院畢業(yè)。“他是一個徹頭徹尾的右翼保守派，我卻是一個善心泛濫的自由派。開始我們老是吵架，不過后來我們決定改聊足球，相處就很愉快了。八年過去了，我馬上要在他的婚禮上做伴郎了。”

在學(xué)年之初坐下來，一對一地聊一聊，立下一些基本規(guī)矩，是個不錯的主意。你們應(yīng)該談一談諸如音樂播放、作息制度和學(xué)習(xí)習(xí)慣等問題，記住，要懂得妥協(xié)！

最后，如果問題開始堆積，你發(fā)現(xiàn)自己無法解決，就該找一個人來幫助你。宿舍助理和輔導(dǎo)員可以幫忙調(diào)解并給你提建議。不要直接要求重新分配寢室，大學(xué)生活的一部分就是要學(xué)習(xí)解決棘手的問題！

“新生增重15磅”

人們都聽說大一新生進校后體重會增加15磅，許多大學(xué)生擔心自己的身材會走樣。

現(xiàn)如今，食堂提供的食物比以往任何時候都更加健康，大多數(shù)學(xué)校有三明治或者類似家庭烹飪的食物（例如烤雞和蔬菜）可供選擇。需要做的只是做出正確的選擇，以及不要矯枉過正。

為了避免“新生增重15磅”，體育鍛煉也很重要。要想動起來，可以加入體育俱樂部、參加校內(nèi)體育活動、去健身房（大多數(shù)學(xué)校的健身房都是免費的?。?，也可以不坐電梯而爬樓梯、不坐校車而走去上課。

時間安排

在大學(xué)里，你一定有很多事可以做。要上課，要參加俱樂部活動，還要社交，日程會滿滿當當。

最該記住的一條是，你無法參加每一次俱樂部活動、每一場派對、每一趟夜游尋樂。有時你需要留下來學(xué)習(xí)或者寫論文。晚上和朋友一起出去玩的機會還會有很多，但把不及格的分數(shù)拉回及格線可就難了。

為了保證足夠的學(xué)習(xí)時間，你應(yīng)該把每門課老師第一節(jié)課下發(fā)的課程提綱收集起來，綜合本學(xué)期必須完成的每一篇論文、每一場考試和每一次口頭報告，列出一個總綱，做成一份日程表。等你把學(xué)習(xí)任務(wù)都安排好之后，就很容易知道什么時候需要全力以赴，什么時候又可以稍微自由一點。

找到你想?yún)⒓拥木銟凡炕蛘哌\動隊之后，弄清楚活動或訓(xùn)練的時間安排。選擇幾個你想專注其中的俱樂部，把它們作為優(yōu)先考慮項。等到適應(yīng)了自己的時間表之后，可以再試著加上幾件事，一件一件來。

如果感覺有些忙不過來，去找你的教授，請求寬限一些時間（不能太頻繁，否則他們就該不答應(yīng)了?。?，或者和俱樂部輔導(dǎo)員聊一聊，讓他們了解自己的狀況。每個人都會在某些時候稍有落后，所以多數(shù)輔導(dǎo)員和老師都能理解。

宿舍生活的常見問題

住校生活總的來說缺乏隱私。大多數(shù)新生宿舍使用公用浴室，所以如果你比較矜持，帶上浴袍去洗澡，走在走廊里的時候可以裹上。不過如果別人只裹著一條毛巾，不要感到驚訝。你也許得和異性住同一層樓——在馬里蘭大學(xué)帕克分校等學(xué)校，這種安排現(xiàn)在越來越流行了。該校甚至有不分性別的宿舍，任何學(xué)生——不論性別——都可以住在一起。與之相反，你也可能需要面對如下狀況：異性過了某個鐘點就不許留在你住的樓層了。記住，對于什么是“合適”，每所大學(xué)、每個人各有不同的看法。如果什么事真的讓你覺得不舒服，就告訴宿舍管理員，他們可以出面協(xié)調(diào)。不然的話，就試著自我調(diào)整，這將大大減輕你在處理問題時面對的壓力。

在宿舍生活中，許多學(xué)生很難適應(yīng)他們新獲得的自由（以及偶爾缺失自由的情況）。爸爸媽媽不會再待在身邊、確保你不惹麻煩。你將擁有大多數(shù)學(xué)生在爸媽嚴密監(jiān)視下從未體會過的自主權(quán)，你很可能有機會參加派對、大睡懶覺、翹課、晚歸。盡管許多學(xué)生會利用約束不多這一點，但還是想想你的舉動對于成績、健康和你的名聲會有什么影響吧，試著作出正確的決定。

人們一般認為住校生活是為了幫助你為“真實世界”做好準備，而大學(xué)階段的四年也將是你一生中過得最快的時間。沒有媽媽幫你洗衣服、爸爸幫你修燈泡（一個小訣竅：帶幾個燈泡去學(xué)校，就不用等維修人員了），這是通往獨立生活的令人興奮的一步。你將為自己承擔更多的責任，如果處理得當，你將度過一段美好的大學(xué)時光。? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? □

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎選手）