Speaker: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast by the hosts and guests may or may not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Miami University.

Speaker: Freshman year I came in undecided.

Speaker: I'm finance, entrepreneurship, anthropology.

Speaker: I'm a senior architecture student.

Speaker: I'm involved in the blockchain club here.

Speaker: I'm very passionate about studying abroad.

Speaker: Classes are going great.

Speaker: And then obviously very involved with my sorority.

Speaker: I'm thriving.

Meredith Aliff 

Hi, I'm Meredith Aliff, and this is major insight. This is the podcast where we talk college life with amazing students about how to find your place and purpose on campus. This time on major insight, we continue with part two of our special summer series called advice for my first-year self. Uncertain about college, who isn't? Worried about if your major is the right major for you? That is so normal. Feel like you're the only one who hasn't figured it all out yet? You're not. We promise. We're here to help you navigate all the highs and lows of college, to embrace the uncertainty and to find your place and purpose on campus with more advice and inspiration from successful students who have already been through it all.

Cambria Beane 

I am Cambria bean. I am absolutely obsessed with psychology and neuroscience. Those are my majors.

Meredith Aliff 

If you could talk to yourself before you came to college, what would you say to little baby Cambria?

Cambria Beane 

First of all, I would tell her to take a big deep breath, because I know she's freaking out. So that would be the first thing. But then I would say, I would say this to little Cambria, and I would say this to anybody that's considering coming to college, is that there is a space specifically for you. I think as a senior where I've had these great experiences, it can be easy to forget what it felt like first coming in to college and how absolutely terrified I was. I come from a small town in rural Southeast Ohio, and so most people don't go to college, or if they do, they'll go to a local university or a community college. And so coming to some place like Miami was very intimidating. And I think that this can be said for if you're from any small town, if you're going to a big university. And so when I first came I certainly had those feelings of, Wow, I don't have these experiences that other people have who came from cities or really nice suburbs, and they had too many AP classes to count, and college credit, plus.

Meredith Aliff 

Came in with like half of their college finished already.

Cambria Beane 

Exactly. And that was totally not my experience. I think we had maybe five AP classes. And so I think I took all but one of them, and that's what was offered to me, and so that's what I did. So there were certainly those feelings of, "Do I belong here? Will I be able to have a role in this academic space and with these people who just come with so many more diverse experiences than I did?" So I would say that was probably the biggest challenge that I had to overcome.

Meredith Aliff 

Yeah, and it's hard, it's hard to get out of your head. I think it's very mental to think like that, and it's obviously so easy to be in your head, especially, you know, coming from a small place. I came from a very small high school, and didn't know a single soul coming here. And that is so intimidating to, like you said, figure out your role here, like, what am I going to do with my time here? And who am I going to meet? And I like to tell people, do not ever get embarrassed about anything. Go talk to somebody, and don't care if they give you a weird look, or go and find this organization, and if you hate it, you can leave it later, but it will benefit you to just dive in wholeheartedly and not worry about the consequences or like being embarrassed, or anything like that.

Marguerite Smith 

I am Marguerite Smith, I'm a senior. I'm about to graduate, and I've done a lot of cool things in college.

Meredith Aliff 

What are some of the biggest challenges that you've had to overcome?

Marguerite Smith 

I think some of the biggest challenges I've had are internal. It's that imposter syndrome. It's being that only girl in your engineering class and wondering, why am I here? Am I good enough to be here? You know, everyone seems so much smarter than me, like they know what they're doing, and they they build these amazing robots in their free time, and I don't do that. So it's really easy to wonder, you know, am I doing the right thing? Am I on the right path, and do I belong here? But I've had a really great support system with my family, my friends and even my peers who I got to know better once the pandemic kind of came to a close, that they've reminded me that I do belong here, and it's not just that I can exist, but I can be a leader, too. So I've just been really lucky, but there are days where, you know, it's hard, but you have to learn how to move on past that and be true in who you know that you are.

Meredith Aliff 

If you could go back and talk to yourself coming into college having no idea what's about to happen in these next four years, what would you say to yourself?

Marguerite Smith 

I say this to myself, and I would even say this to myself now, but have more fun. I was so nervous about my GPA and getting an A minus versus an A, and you do need a good GPA to go to law school, like, that's very true, but I could still do that and cut myself some slack, because when you cut yourself some slack, it's not, you know, giving up on yourself and everyone deserves that break, and that's something I didn't give myself for the longest time. I'm only just now getting better at giving myself that time, that rest, that break when I need it, because I'm always so go, go, go, and I want to what's next? What's the next thing? What do I have to do? What could I get ahead on? What can I accomplish in this free time. I have an hour to sit? Oh, I should do something with it. You don't always have to. Sometimes you can just sit and exist. I love Pinterest, so it's okay to scroll on Pinterest and just be kind of a vegetable for a minute.

Meredith Aliff 

Yeah. Turn on some Friends, turn on some Modern Family, like a little comfort show.

Marguerite Smith 

Yep, just let it play and just lay down. Sometimes I just want to lay down and I just don't. So I would tell myself to have more fun and give more time back to yourself.

Meredith Aliff 

Yeah, and I love that you said I still have to tell that to myself today, because it's a hard thing to be like, hey, just chill out for a second.

Marguerite Smith 

I'm still figuring it out. Very much so.

Jonathan Erwin 

Hi. My name is Jonathan Erwin. I'm a senior studying theater and arts management. I think time management is something that I think a lot of people struggle with, like in a field that -- everyone's different -- in a field that requires you to do four hour rehearsals every night and filming that takes 20 hours a day. That was an exaggeration. It gets hard when you want to do the things you want to do and you don't have the time for them. I said yes to a lot of things I probably shouldn't have said yes to, and that didn't take away... It almost enhanced the experience, but it made me really tired. It made me really tired, exhausted. And it took away from schoolwork, from friends, and that's a big conflict I have, is, is doing that, that balance between work. Work, I mean, academics and life.

Meredith Aliff 

Yeah, time management is tough. It's definitely tough. And as somebody who is Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, all the time I I can't sit still at all, like taking an hour nap. I feel guilty. I'm like, I should have been doing something, like, I should have... but you have to sometimes just take a break, take a breather. It's all going to be just fine. Okay, so this is usually a hard question. If you could go back and talk to yourself as a freshman in college, maybe, let's say your night before your first day of school as a college student. What would you say to yourself now?

Jonathan Erwin 

I would tell Jonathan, freshman year to wear his heart on his sleeve. In everything he does and the friends that he makes, in his classes, in his extracurriculars, in his family and going home for Thanksgiving and Christmas and letting people know how he feels, I think can take him a long way.

Meredith Aliff 

I love that. Wear your heart on your sleeve. That's awesome.

Lauren McCann 

My name is Lauren McCann. I am a sophomore Primary Education major from Westerville, Ohio.

Meredith Aliff 

What have been some of the biggest challenges that you feel like you faced in college?

Lauren McCann 

So like I said, being homesick, has been such a challenge. It's so difficult, and I know that a lot of people struggle with it. I don't know, even two years in, like I'm in my fourth semester, and I'm still super homesick, and that's so hard. But I have to understand that there are other people experiencing the same thing as well. I've also struggled a lot, just kind of with, I would say, people pleasing is such a difficulty in so many people's lives. But just understanding that you can't say yes to everything, although you may feel like you have to say yes to everything, you don't have to. You don't have to because it's your life and it's your individual journey. And I think being of help and service to other people is so, so, so important. But just understanding that you can't fill other people's cups if you don't fill yours up first, so not overdoing it and experiencing burnout. That regard. So yeah.

Meredith Aliff 

Right, there's this huge thing of just like spreading yourself way too thin. Yes, it's really hard to not be the person that's like, "Oh yes, I can do this, and then I'll run and do this for you, and then I'll run and join this org for you." And then it gets difficult, but at the end of the day, it's ... this sounds bad, but it's okay to be selfish for yourself, and I think that will help with the homesickness part too. I mean, I can tell you, I'm in my sixth semester of college, and I still am so homesick sometimes, and that doesn't mean that I'm not loving my friends and loving my major and loving being a podcast host. I have so much fun, but it makes it easier knowing that this is fully my chosen experience that I've decided to have. And I think it does help with the homesickness to be like, Yes, I'm doing the things that I want to do, taking classes for a major that I want to have, you know, and it doesn't make the classes easier, of course, but it makes it... it gives a little bit of reassurance and knowing that, like, Yeah, I'm homesick, but I'm here doing something that I've decided to do.

Lauren McCann 

Yeah, and it's so reassuring to hear that you and your sixth semester are still homesick, because there have been so many times where I ask people how they're feeling, and they're like, "Well, I was homesick my first semester, but now I'm fine," but it's so uplifting to hear that other people are having ... I mean, obviously I don't want anybody to be, like, homesick, but it's so... it's just comforting to know that there are other people in that position.

Nyah 

Naya, yeah, so my name is Naya. I currently have the honor of serving Miami as our student body president, and I have also been an intramural curler here. Yeah, the funniest question that I honestly didn't expect was, what do I need to do to get to be you in your position? I never know how to answer that question, because honestly, my first two years of college, I would have never thought that I'd be in this position. I was involved as a seal ambassador. However, other than that, I was so nervous to get involved in other student organizations, and I had to, at the end of my sophomore year, really tell myself, you have to get outside of your comfort zone. You have to start going out and getting involved. And I was so nervous of how people were going to perceive me or if I was going to be accepted by student orgs. However, I had to realize you have to give it a shot, and you have to give people a shot to even get to meet you. And so I tell people just have your own involvement experience. And if you end up here, you end up here. If you don't, that's okay. There are things that you can do in my position that you don't have to be in my position to do. Just do it in your respective spaces and get outside of your comfort zone and get involved where you can and go for it.

Meredith Aliff 

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. I think you've got the right answer for anybody to ask you that, because I think it's important. You can't come in with any preconceived notions of what this process is going to be like, like these next ... or the four years of college. You seriously can't have a solid plan, because it just you won't be able to stick to it.

Nyah 

No, not at all. I thought that I had a whole idea of what my four years were going to look like, it has looked nothing like what I expected it -- in good ways and in bad ways. You know, things happen and you have to pivot. You have to navigate. You have to be willing to change. You have to be willing to adapt. You have to be willing to really work on your feet. And that would honestly be my biggest encouragement: is to not get too stuck in what you think these four years are going to look like. Because I never thought that I was going to be an intramural curler. I never thought that I was going to be the student body president, but really learning that there's no limit to what you can do. The possibilities are endless, even when they don't feel like it, and even when you get turned away from an internship or a job or an opportunity that's just leaving your time open for another thing.

Meredith Aliff 

Absolutely, I love that. Okay, well, it has been such a pleasure meeting you and you are in such an amazing position on this campus, and I've loved watching you kind of build up to this moment. I was so excited to talk to you today, but I can't wait to see how the rest of this year plays out. And I wish you the best of luck with everything.

Nyah 

Thank you. I appreciate it. You have been incredible.

Meredith Aliff 

Oh, thanks. And we out.

Meredith Aliff 

We hope you enjoyed this latest edition of our special summer series called advice for my first year self. Next time we are excited to welcome a very special guest as Miami University President Greg Crawford will be here to give us his perspectives on the modern college experience. What would you say to a high school senior coming to college?

Greg Crawford 

Well, I think, at first that they should be super excited. I think, you know, going to college is still a privilege, but I also would tell them that, you know, college is about studying, and obviously it's about, you know, learning new things, and it's about doing research, but to really get involved, both personally, with friends and do outside activities, to get involved with all the student life activities that you can get involved with. And then also, don't think you're in this alone, because there's always a shoulder. There's always someone to help you. There's always a helping hand. And it may be a professor, it may be a staff member, it may be a family member, but it's also, in many cases, I'm sure you know as well, that it's a student, it's your student colleague, it's your peer that helps you out. And so the support structures are all there. Many are informal, but they're there to sort of help you succeed. And so just tell them to go for it, because there's so much out there that you can do, especially at Miami, and to experience as much as you can without hurting your grades, of course.

Meredith Aliff 

That's next time on Major Insight. Until then, you can find many more episodes wherever podcasts are found.