Still feeling lost, but making myself known

I came to Philadelphia from a small town. And when I say "small town", I mean it: my first high school had a "Drive your tractor to school day". I thought there would be something almost romantic, somewhat spontaneous about moving to the big city on my own. And here I am.

It's ridiculously simple to feel lost in the city. People are everywhere. The city makes me dizzy. Even though I've become literate in subway map-reading, I know a few of the best little boutiques to poke around in, and I have a few nice restaurants I'd love to eat at if I only had the dough, I am, by no means, a "city girl" yet. I still feel lost. There are people absolutely everywhere.

And so here's my little tip of the day - and this doesn't just go for university students in the city; any college campus is large enough to feel a little infinitesimal in. Get involved. Know people. 

In high school, I was involved in whatever I could get my hands on: marching band, musical pit, designing costumes for the school plays, the school paper, concert band, Girl Scouts, what have you. College is a bit different. To get involved, you've really got to go for it yourself. 

Luckily, I took some initiative before classes even started and got my lonely ass signed up for multiple clubs and organizations, everything from Temple's Socialist club to a Gardening club. Currently, I'm only involved in one of said clubs (Students for Environmental Action represent!), but I make sure to attend as many meetings as possible and volunteer for everything I'm available for. 

Similarly (and no, this is not in any way a plug for what I'm involved in), I've very recently become involved with something my Journalism and Society professor has set up: a magazine all about the Philadelphia music scene. It's called Jump. It's a strictly volunteer-based staff of music enthusiasts/students at Temple who want to explore the jungle of the Philadelphia music scene. So far,the ball is still rolling. WWe've got a media package set up, a few hundred Facebook group conversations going, and a group meeting in the works. It's lookin' good, and it feels really good to be involved with something so fresh, so innovative. Look world, I can actually be somebody in a city.

Stay involved. Join something, anything, and most importantly:

Keep calm,

Sarah