The first week of college is similar to your first kiss: you don’t know what you’re doing, it can be awkward and, most of all, it’s scary.

It can be a great shock going from a school of, say, 800 people to one of 30,000. But have no fear, young one. Here is a small, precise and compact list to help you, the new kid on campus, achieve college nirvana with your health, friends and habits.

Eat healthy

The first and foremost thing all freshmen hear about is the inevitable 15 pounds they’re going to gain. A quick word to the wise: Don’t eat a strict diet of pizza and soda all the time. Get into good eating habits early and exercise a little bit. You’ll feel better and have more energy eating a salad than the special in the 3rd floor cafeteria.

Roommate = Friend

Another possibility every freshman dreads is having a deadbeat roommate who farts, snores and itches his or her crotch in front of your parents. Couple of objective observations: first, you may be that deadbeat, so wise up and be polite. Second, you were both thrust into the situation, so you should make the best of it. And lastly, the quicker you make friends, the easier your life will be when it comes to social activities.

Join a club

This university has over 250 organizations to feed anyone’s desire to do anything. Whether you like video games, wrestling, rugby, board games, water skiing — you get the point — there is something for everybody on this wonderful campus, so take advantage of it.

Home is where your dorm is

Face it, it’s not easy moving away from something familiar. To help with the breakup of home, bring something along that reminds you of where you came from. Be it a blanket, pictures or a CD that you made with your old friends, it will help cope with that sick feeling in your stomach.

Your RA is cool

The resident assistant is the coolest person you will meet your first week because he or she knows a lot of neat places to go. He or she can answer all your questions about the campus, tell you great places for entertainment or maybe even help you with a homework question. Something you should never do is make your RA mad.

Now that you have some basic tips for making it through the first week, it’s time to put them into effect. Go have a healthy supper in the dorms with your roommate while you search for a club to join. Afterwards, you can head back to your floor and chill with your RA. Then, when you think of home, cuddle with your blanket and imagine how cool tomorrow will be when you buy $400 worth of books. Welcome to college, freshmen.

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