【０】
I survived.
The first semester of university, where everything was way too new, and way too bright.
The first lecture, so crowded and frantic, full of many questions, surrounded by many strangers.
The first class, where I tasted the foreignness of saying my own name, forcing a smile as I pretended to listen to theirs.
The first club, a club I had joined on a whim of youthful, optimistic spontaneity, only to never return again after the first meeting.
And of course, the first quiz, first assignment, and first exam.
I did it all, and I figured it out. I know what to do now, or rather, what not to do.
Don’t make eye contact.
Don’t talk to people, especially in lectures.
Don’t go to lectures.
Don’t rely on people, especially in group projects.
Don’t go to people’s houses to work on group projects (never again ugh)
Don’t talk about anything other than the task at hand.
Don’t make small talk - it only leads to an awkward silence.
Don’t talk about yourself - no one actually cares.
And last but not least.
Don’t make friends...
...you’ll never see them around anyway.
Oh, how I wish that were true.
