Hi, welcome to FYE. My name is Yanran Lin, but most of my friends and colleagues here know me by Snow. I’ll be your discussion leader for this class. I am a 3rd year Cognitive Psychology major. In my free time I like to watch movies or simply walk down the beach in the late afternoon so I can watch the sunset. I have been actively involved in Active Minds since my freshman year, which is a mental health advocacy, and I was also one of the cabinet members last year. If you’re interested in what we do or considering joining I’m more than happy to tell you more about it. What I want to do as your DL is to serve as a middle man for you to get the support you need. Please don’t hesitate to communicate your needs with me. I’ll do my best to accommodate you. My office hours will be TBD at TBD. So, I know for your first year in a new place things can get really confusing and hectic or even scary. I remember my first quarter, oh man it was not a total blast. One of the things I struggled most with was figuring out how I should fit in. At one point I was in 5 students organizations and trying to go to every mixer I came across. That was really exhausting and emotionally draining for me because I am more on the introverted side of the spectrum and I’m certainly not used to social-ling every other night and talking to a bunch of people. If there’s one thing that I wished I had known on DAY 1, it’s that “you are not obligated to adopt a new social style or a new “identity”, and it’s ok to go on your own pace.” Maybe you are more of an extrovert and you love going to mixers every other night, and that’s great! As long as it’s good for you! If not, then it’s ok to want to stay home and enjoy a little “me time”. And that’s the first thing I want to share with you in our time together.