<p>Finding your way is a challenge for anyone, whether or not they had the support offered on the Commons or showed up at age 19 as a sophomore. Vanderbilt has wonderful classrooms and teachers and you will not be disappointed in your education although it is not as cozy and intimate as a small liberal arts colleges. The trade-offs are however excellent in terms of breadth of offerings, and opportunities to try new things and to use Vanderbilt’s depth of resources. Join one or two things. Contribute to them. It’s a start. I told both of my sons when we left them at Duke, Vandy and at Hopkins for summers when they were younger that dealing with aspects of loneliness is part of getting a grip on your new station in life as a young adult. If you take an interest in others’ lives, dreams, disappointments and frustrations, others will take an interest in yours. One thing for sure is that all of your classmates are as smart as you are but are gifted in different ways from each other. Everyone was “good at school” and everyone is “good at life” in different ways. Look at everyone including yourself as a “work in progress”, don’t discriminate against Greeks or non Greeks, have an open spirit and good things will come your way. The area around Vanderbilt is awfully good for places to go and things to do whether or not you are left out of already in place social parties etc. Lots better than the campus access to host town, village and businesses than many other fine colleges have to offer. Congrats on your admission. Please keep in mind that the entire class could easily be replaced by 1600 people on the wait list and you would still have an outstanding academic peer group. That is reality and they know that no one is admitted as a transfer who can’t keep up and also contribute. Be happy.</p>