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" Move-in is complete! My room is decorated (in all purple, black, and leopard print!), my posters are hung, and my classes have started! The first days of college at USC have been quite the experience. So far, I&amp;#039;ve been busy getting to know my roommate, exploring the campus, and starting off band performances with a bang! Even though I haven&amp;#039;t been here very long, I&amp;#039;ve already learned SO much. One thing I&amp;#039;ve discovered is to ALWAYS leave enough time (even more than you think you need!) for meals. I know that there&amp;#039;s minimal time offered to eat, but make sure you have enough time before the next activity. Food lines are long- register lines are even longer, and suddenly a half-hour meal gets crammed into 10 minutes! Secondly, Facebook your roommate before you move-in, and get to know her early on. Find some fun similarities between the two of you and maybe go to grab dinner the first couple of nights - making a friend out of a roommate is a good way to ensure that your year together won&amp;#039;t turn out a total disaster.  Also, bring lots of pictures to frame or hang up to remind you of home because you&amp;#039;ll miss it WAY more than you thought. I was SO ready to get to Columbia and be out of the house, but by the second night I was missing my own couch and bed, my pets, and my parents. No matter how much you&amp;#039;re ready to be independent, once you live in a dorm where you don&amp;#039;t know anyone and you&amp;#039;ve become ONE student out of 30,000, you&amp;#039;ll realize how much you miss the comfort of family...and Mom&amp;#039;s homemade meals, of course! Lastly- get out and join the fun! Here at South Carolina, there&amp;#039;s always something to do or someone to hang out with. For instance, there&amp;#039;s a girl in my Journalism classes who lives in my dorm, and she and I went to grab an ice cream together after class the other day. Get to know some people in your classes or introduce yourself to someone in the elevator- don&amp;#039;t let the people you see every day go without knowing your name! Best of luck ladies, Alex :) "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/life/school/advice/a24883/alex-cherry-moves-in-at-usc/>