It Concerns Me

Now that I've finished all the tasks I outlined in my last post, I have time to sit and actually think about tomorrow. And this thinking has led to some unsettling thoughts.
I'm not nervous about being an OGL, exactly; my stomach isn't fluttery or anything. I'm just suddenly a little anxious. I did Link Crew for two years in high school, but I think that being an OGL is completely different. For one thing, my Orientation group is a group of adults. Literally. They're 18. They're older, they're (hopefully) more mature, and they're out on their own for probably the first time in their lives.
The biggest difference between college freshman and high school freshman is the level of independence. I cannot make my Orientation group stay. They can leave whenever they want, and Mrs. Johnson will not be waiting in the hallway to escort them back in.
In other words, unless I somehow make a huge impact on them tomorrow, unless I find a way to show them that it's worth it to stay with the group, they're gone.
Hopefully I find a way to do the above things, because I really believe that Orientation is an essential part of the freshman experience. Not only does it give you a ton of important information, but it gives you a chance to bond with people who are not on your floor. It gives you a whole additional group of people to say hi to on the sidewalks, and to sit by in Food Service (excuse me: The Dining Hall). It provides a support group that is entirely unique in that it is probably the first support group you encounter upon moving in. Orientation is the first impression most freshman will get at Morris, and so it's crucial that it's a good one.
Admittedly, I didn't love waking up early for three days to meet up with my Orientation group, and it was a little awkward because I felt like all the kids were friends and I was kind of on the outside. Luckily, though, I had a great OGL who really tried hard to make everyone feel comfortable, and who I continued to see around campus all of freshman year.
I'm going to do my best starting tomorrow to make everyone feel at home, and I even feel like I have a bit of an edge because I was a freshman last year, and I remember exactly what it felt like to be thrust headfirst into something like Orientation.

If all else fails?
I bought a bunch of candy at Willie's. A little bribe never hurts.