Opening the door to my first class Monday morning two thoughts went through my mind: am I in the right building, and if I am, is it too late to turn and run? Then my greatest fear came true; heads swiveled and stared at me, and in that moment they already knew: I was a freshman.

With the start of classes this week, you may feel as if you’re wearing a giant Jasper-green “F” on your chest. Everywhere we turn, whether it’s walking to Leo or navigating our way through Locke’s, we are automatically identified as the newbies of MC. Do we give off some sort of aura or do upper classmen have a “freshman radar” we don’t know about?

Either way, we should channel our inner Hester Prynne in this situation – keep our heads held high and wear our new label with pride. The obvious question here is: how? How do we make a positive first impression with such a negative denomination attached to us? Trust me if Hester could do it so can we – plus she did something a lot worse than just being new.

We have to start embracing it. Revel in the awkwardness of the situation so others can too. No one is going to think being a “froshie” is awesome if you don’t believe it yourself.

You’re probably thinking, yeah right. There is no way anyone is going to think being a freshman is fun or cool. We are at the bottom of the food chain. We sit in the first row in class with our student ID wrapped around our necks. We still don’t know where exactly Hayden is or the right way to “quad.”

But, as a newbie, we hold a lot more cards than we think we do. Believe it or not, we are in pretty high demand. Everyone wants us to join their club, attend their meetings, try out for their dance team or sign up for co-ed intramurals. It’s much easier to get involved at the start of our college careers than when we are washed-up sophomores or juniors.

We also have something that no upper classman has: four more years of college. Let’s try to take advantage of it. We have time to try new things before being forced into choosing a major. Take a variety of classes, get to know what you like and don’t like. It might be the last time in our lives we get to be this picky.

So go join the Accounting Society or rush Alpha Upsilon Pi. Take advantage of our unlimited meal plan and remember that Tex Mex closes at eight. Don’t be afraid to speak up or introduce yourself. Then before you know it that “F” on your chest will stand for something else, like “fabulous” or “familiar.” Soon other people will start to realize they don’t care all that much about our freshman status and neither will we.