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Welcome to LUMS, smol freshmen!
What awaits you now is a series of events that you’ll find yourself mentally and physically unprepared for. You’re going to question yourself, your values and fall into irregular bouts of self-hate. But don’t fret! It has happened to the best of us and I promise you the challenges ahead won’t get easier, but you’ll become better at handling them.
I understand that for some people, LUMS is nothing short of a dream come true. For others, it’s a back-up. You either didn’t get into your dream university abroad because you asked for a hefty financial aid package or you missed your conditional offer to study at a British institution by 1 A* or less. It’s okay Lil’ Freshie. You’re not the only one.
Seriously. I know you may be struggling with your superiority complex right now but the sooner you get over it, the better. At LUMS, no-one cares about the 7 A*s you scored in your O’levels or your distinction for that matter. You may have had fame and respect in your school but that ends now. This is a new beginning and you’re going to have to build your image up again, from scratch. People who’ve been dreaming about attending LUMS are going to be extra motivated so your ass cannot afford to take a break.
You need to accept the fact that you’re out of high school now. It’s a new game altogether so you can’t depend on your old high score to help you out; the leaderboards have been reset. One thing that’s going to get you through this game is a set of allies. This is going to be the hardest part, a true process of trial and error. How many foundations did you have to go through to find the perfect match for your skin tone? Color Studio, L’oreal, and Maybelline may have been cheap and easy to find but in the end, you decided to save up for Clinique and found out that it was worth the wait. Sorry for the make up jargon boys, just trying to make a point.
In LUMS, you’re going to meet people from all backgrounds and you need to learn to interact amicably with all of them (even if you don’t want to). You may meet a lot of people in your first semester and feel that you don’t fit in with anyone. That’s okay, you’re going to meet a lot more people and I guarantee you, you’re not that unique, you will find people you connect with once you stop looking so hard. Don’t try to be cool and ditch your O week group.
Your O week coaches are going to be an asset when you need advice for choosing courses or just want someone to cry to. They’ve been through the exact same thing. They understand. Oh yeah, most importantly, don’t trust anyone until the trial period is over. For me, that’s around 2 months. At the beginning of the year, everyone is desperate for friends and people are going to use your secrets to bond with other people. You’re going to hear strange things about yourself. Don’t worry, “small minds discuss people”…I don’t know the rest.
Throughout this process, you need to remain calm. Even if your insecurities get out of control you need to maintain the façade of being bad-ass who spares no f**** because the more you react, the more people will try to push you. Everyone likes drama. Also, I know this is a new environment and you suddenly have this new-found independence but please don’t abuse it. Don’t give people a reason to talk. You’ll only be setting yourself up for failure. If you’re a loud prude like me, you may feel the need to voice your disgust at your peers’ vices. Shut your pious ass. Coming across as judgmental is just as bad as coming across as an insecure drug addict (Oops, I did it again). If you really can’t put up with something, remove yourself from the situation instead of making the other person feel bad.
Okay, so during this entire process which will take up your first 2-5 months at LUMS, you’re going to feel a lot of negative energy building up inside of you so there is a very high chance of you bursting in the form of a very public breakdown at the khoka or in the middle of Islamiat class (been there, done that). If you still haven’t found people you trust, you need to find yourself a place to cry, preferably not your room. I say this because you’ll become so conditioned to crying in your room that you won’t be able to do anything productive, like study. I haven’t even gotten to that part yet.
The next very important aspect of your life at LUMS is your routine which is going to determine your social and academic success. Please be kind to yourself. After the first week of socializing, try to get into bed by 2 am so that you’re not groggy when you wake up for your 8 am class at 7. If you’re living in the hostel, you should consider getting up an hour before class instead of 5 minutes because you want to get yourself cleaned up and fed. Don’t skip breakfast. It’s the least fattening meal of the day and you can’t afford to have the freshmen 10 mess with you as well.
Don’t compare yourself to others. Just because someone can give a quiz on twenty minutes of sleep and minimal preparation doesn’t mean you can. Just because others can have superstore burgers on a daily basis and not gain weight doesn’t mean you can too. Join societies. You need to meet people outside of class and keep some sort of activity that will drag you from your room. However, remember that at the end of your four years here, your CGPA is going to be on your resume and not the fact that you were AD of LCSS. Get your priorities sorted.
While we’re on the topic of weight gain, you might want to learn to cook yourself. Make some local friends who won’t mind taking you to the stores now and then. Learn to make a salad because you can’t live off of Maggi noodles forever. My roommate has tried. Learn to make a salad, basic curries, sandwiches if your metabolism can take it but I would suggest staying away from the carbs. If you’re a guy, hit the gym. If you’re a girl, make use of the jogging track because our gym is depressing and has too many clothing regulations. Shower often, wear comfortable, practical shoes or risk getting rashes, plantar warts or athlete’s foot. Change your clothes daily (especially undies) and stay hydrated or you’ll get bacne or worse: UTIs.
Though you may find LUMS a PITA the first few months, you’ll eventually learn to love it. Stop focusing on what you didn’t get and start focusing on what you did — and your life will get much better. Life is unfair. Sometimes you don’t get things you deserve and sometimes you get things you didn’t deserve so make what you will of that.
Learn to set goals for yourself, and to forgive yourself if you don’t achieve your goals the first time around. Appreciate the fact that you’re part of a huge, talented community which is always willing to help.
