There are all of the usual activities. Choosing your classes, getting sick of the food at Val, checking out the different clubs on campus, meeting new people, complaining about Val, getting your mail, doing the laundry, and of course, eating at Val. Bored yet?
This vibrant community and picturesque setting provides multitude of things to do in or around campus. After having a wonderful first week here, I thought I would share the 10 best things I did during my first week at Amherst College.
1. Check out the Bike Path in the morning. Yes, you are at college now, where you are probably (like me) constantly relishing in the fact that school no longer starts at 7:30 am. However, there are worthwhile things to wake up for, one being the sunrise along the bike path. It doesn’t matter if you have to pry your eyes open with a crowbar — you need to wrench yourself out of bed at least once during your time at Amherst to see the beautiful golden light bathing the velvety fields, towering trees and tranquil ponds.
2. Go to a party. Whether you drink or abstain, are a pro-dancer or have two left feet, hate loud noise or love to destory your eardrums, you must go to a college party just to say you have. It’s an integral part of the college experience. Acting crazy is of course the expected — whether you need alcohol for that or not is up to you. Personally speaking, I am capable of looking like a ridiculous goof completely sober. So for all of you out there missing out on the party scene because you don’t drink — don’t worry, it can be done.
3. Eat at Antonio’s after 12am. Antonio’s pizza shop is open until the wee hours of the morning — when most students are still awake and ravenous. Highly convenient for those of us with bottomless pits for stomachs, the pizza is delicious as well as filling. And if you go later at night (or earlier in the morning, however you view it), there tends to be a lot of excitement on the streets. My friends and I got to sit and watch (while we munched on pizza, of course) a police officer administer a field sobriety test to a thoroughly confused driver — it was like a live showing of “Cops.” What could be better?
4. Run down Memorial Hill. Everyone with a set of working eyes knows that hill is steep as hell, but it’s also a lot of fun. The adrenaline rush is comparable to the feeling you get on a rollercoaster. Just be careful — we don’t want to send a slew of students to the Keefe Health Center complaining of injuries from running down a hill.
5. Check out the Hampshire Mall. Campus gets to feel small pretty quickly. The Hampshire Mall is a nice place to get out, eat some non-Val food or frantically find a new shirt when you realize you have no party clothes. If you take the bus, be forewarned — evenings here get quite chilly, and when the bus doesn’t arrive on time, chilly turns into very cold rather quickly. Of course, when the bus does arrive, you’ll be quite toasty. UMass students pack the bus chalk full, defying capacity limits and amazing those unfamiliar with public transportation by demonstrating how many people can be squashed in such a small space.
6. See the sunset behind Johnson Chapel. It’s like looking at a painting in its preliminary state. Hues of purple, blue, pink and orange all blend together seamlessly in great strips across the sky. With the silhouette of the chapel adding to the mix (as well as the frequently ringing bells), the scene is quite beautiful.
7. Join a club, team or group. Get involved — that’s the key. Even if it’s an activity you’ve never tried before. Not only do you make an abundance of new friends, but you also learn more skills, take on new passions and find a way to decompress after a long day of classes and homework. You never know — perhaps within you lies a secret zeal for playing frisbee or singing a capella — you won’t find out until you try!
8. Explore Frost Library. Six floors of books may seem daunting, but when you wander through the stacks and look around, you realize the power of the written word and how much information this one building stores. Just beware the movie-viewing rooms on level A — not all the keys work, and waiting in the dark and empty corridors while trying to open the door is a bit creepy.
9. Shop a class. Yeah, it’s a pain. You end up doing homework for a class you don’t actually take, you don’t know if your schedule is set in stone and you sit in more than your prescribed four classes. Nevertheless, you learn a lot about courses, professors and subjects you could potentially encounter in coming years. If you’re on the fence about sitting in on a class, go ahead and do it — it’s worthwhile.
10. Make friends with whom you can be yourself. Everyone is trying to make a good impression their first week of college. Let’s face it — you want people to like you; however, this results in people not being themselves. Find someone with whom you can giggle uncontrollably about nothing or sing randomly in the street. If you don’t do either of those things, search out someone who likes you for who you truly are, including all your weird quirks and oddities. Those are the people you will have the most fun with, and that’s the ultimate thing you should do at Amherst — enjoy yourself.