Your summer probably seems so busy, with spending last moments with friends going to other schools, family vacations, and working to come up with money for tuition, food, clothes, and having fun in college.

So it may seem like you don’t have time for your college’s freshman orientation, which may be happening as soon as this month.

Freshmen orientation is the time a college takes to set you up as a student (including getting the all-important ID card), introduce you to your adviser, show you more about campus, register for your first classes in college (you may have to take placement tests), and host activities for you to make friends. If your parents are going with you, they’ll have their own stuff to do, like workshops on financial aid.

At my freshmen orientation, I knew nobody. I was an out-of-state student coming South to college – the University of Georgia – with a Chicago accent that stood out. I could have been intimidated by not knowing anyone, but taking this first step made it easier when I officially started college. I got a small taste for dorm life and knew from freshman orientation on that I had made the right college choice.

Your school might have already sent you instructions on what to bring and expect at your freshman orientation, or they’ve set up a website with important info and questions about the often overnight, multiple-day events. But I love what NYU says about preparing for freshman orientation. It says students should bring with them, “A sense of openness and adventure.”

Going in with a good attitude and an eagerness to make friends can help you when classes officially begin. Believe me, you’re not alone if you feel anxious or nervous about freshmen orientation.

By meeting other students now, you can Facebook and text over the summer and come to school in the fall knowing people in campus. It’s possible that your freshman orientation roommate or someone you sit beside during a placement test could be one of your best friends in college.

Now that’s something you don’t want to miss.

–Lori Johnston