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Dear Future Bruin…

Hi everyone!

My name is Sofie. I’m from Livermore, California, and I am a third-year Anthropology student with English and Education minors. UCLA’s campus is big—so many people packed onto campus results in waves of students on Bruin Walk, lunch time rushes, and packed libraries. I come from a small city in the Bay Area, so it was a bit of a culture shock, and since none of my close friends from high school were attending UCLA with me, I was taking on the college transition alone.

As an incoming freshman from a city 331 miles away, I constantly asked myself: “Will I be able to connect to people easily here? What will my life look like on campus?” I remember attending orientation and feeling so nervous about who I was going to meet, what I was going to say, and what UCLA was going to be like. But nerves quickly turned into laughter—orientation was awesome! It is where I made a few of my close friends that I still keep in touch with today (one of which I am actually getting dinner with soon!). While orientation was great, my first year had its fair share of hardships and homesickness. In spite of that, I started to feel more comfortable as I got more involved on campus. I accepted a job at one of the UCLA libraries and met my amazing boss and coworkers. I started exploring more of Westwood by going to the Getty, trying coffee shops in the area, like the Ministry of Coffee, and taking public transit to explore Santa Monica. I hung out with my lovely roommates at the Melrose Trading Post. I learned how to be my own best friend by attending concerts and travelling by myself. I went to football and basketball games and joined the Bruin Tennis club. I got involved in BruinLife Magazine as an editor. I studied abroad in Italy with the UCLA Travel Study program. Once I started to put myself out there and participate in things I really loved, meeting people with shared interests and cool personalities became easy.

Now, at the end of my third year, I absolutely feel at home on UCLA’s campus. I have put effort into making my long-standing relationship stronger while also branching out to meet new people. Almost every day that I walk around campus, I see someone that I know, and it makes me feel connected to our UCLA community. I have also focused on connecting with professors here and attending their office hours. In the social science and humanities divisions, I found that many professors are passionate about connecting students to resources that align with their career paths.

I am a big advocate for student mental health awareness, so if you are wondering or worried about how to make friends, how to get involved on campus, or how to get adjusted to a new environment, here are some tips and resources I have for you:

1.) Keep in touch with your old friends: Know the saying, “Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver, and the other is gold?” It’s too true! Keeping in touch with friends back home can help you feel connected to your hometown if you are missing it. Personally, it’s also so cool to see what my friends and I talked about as kids come true, such as our dreams and passion projects.

2.) Apply to anything and everything: If you are interested in something, apply! You never know what a company or position is looking for, and you just might be the right candidate. I took advantage of opportunities by tailoring my resume, learning how to interview confidently, and applying to anything that interested me.

3.) Get involved on campus early: Whether that means joining a club, an organization, getting a job, or just talking to people in your classes, try to make those connections early on. If you can challenge yourself to say “Hi” to a new person each week, that is an amazing way to build your community and support system.

4.) Just ask: If you need an extension on a paper, just ask! If you want to invite someone to coffee and make a friend out of an acquaintance, just ask! If you need any kind of help, just ask! Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there or to vocalize that you need support. A lot of UCLA students and faculty are more than willing to help in any way they can

Being immersed in the Bruin community has genuinely made me feel more confident, as I have learned how to be an advocate for myself. I am able to make connections with people because I have a strong sense of identity, and I owe that to a lot of the people around me who have supported me throughout my three years on campus.