Advice: The Optimist

by Emma Breen, Delia Cullity, and Emily Franklin

Dear Optimist, I am a freshman and I'm having a hard time understanding one of my professor’s lessons; I just don’t understand how he is explaining the concept. Where can I go to get help with classes, like help with understanding what I didn’t understand in class? -- Wanna B. Successful  

Dear Wanna, 

Salem State has a lot of different ways to get help in classes, be it the Study Buddies feature on the Navigate app, or Peer Tutors. If you need help finding tutors or are just nervous about classes in general, then you can talk to your Student Success Coach in the First-Year Experience office.

Dear Optimist, I’m a first year college student and having trouble making friends on campus. What should I do? -- Feeling Invisible

Dear Feeling,

Get involved, and say yes. It can be scary to leave your comfort zone, especially in a new place with new people, but finding something you’re interested in and excited about can make that first step easier. SSU has plenty of clubs, organizations, and groups you can join, and you can find a list of them on their website. If you pick something and simply start showing up, the rest will follow. People in clubs are always looking for new members and will appreciate you simply being there. This also gives you at least one thing in common with a group of people, which can sometimes make it easier to find who you click with. It’s also likely that there will be events within the group you’ve joined or in an organization/department they’re associated with, so when these events start up just say yes to them. Going to that open mic, coffee house, bingo night, etc. forces you to leave your dorm and meet people. No matter if it's next week or next month, you will find your people.