Choosing a college is without a doubt, one of the most life changing decisions you will make in your life. It’s right up there with choosing a spouse or your favorite member of One Direction. For some of us, the decision was made years ago or as soon as we stepped on campus, but for others it was a process filled with stress and doubt and it was put off until the last minute (11:59 on April 30). Whatever the process may have been like, we have all ended up at Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC)—and with a favorite member of a boyband.

The difficult choices aren’t over yet though, but Fordham is a pretty good place to have to make these choices. Everything from choosing a major to choosing your club life (campus clubs, not dance clubs—but, hey, your choice) is yours to decide and that can be both overwhelming and exhilarating. It will affect not only the next four years, but ultimately every other aspect of your life as well—NBD.

Do you want to join United Student Government and represent your classmates? Do you want to join the Black Students Association or the Jewish Students Organization? Or the Motley Fashion Society? Do you want to go on a Global Outreach service trip? Or maybe even join The Observer and write amazing staff editorials? With over 50 clubs on the Lincoln Center campus the choices are varied and, at times strange. But they are yours to make and yours to utilize. Choosing to be involved in anything at all on campus is going to make your experience richer and more fulfilling—trust us.

They always say that the friends you make in college are going to be the most important and lasting friends you’ll ever make. But you won’t do that without a little effort, friends aren’t going to just come to you here. You need to put yourself out there, make an effort and make connections that will last. Maybe you need someone to sit next to in a class, maybe that girl in the elevator is listening to your favorite song, maybe that boy out on the plaza needs to borrow a lighter, or maybe that personin your class has a cool phome case. Whatever it may be, choose to make an effort and make the strangest, funniest, best friends of your life.

It can seem easy in the first few weeks of the transition to college to choose to coast by and get into a routine of class, eat, homework, sleep, etc., etc. It is up to you to choose to explore. Choose to experience. Choose to make friends because you like their shoes. Choose to join a club because it means something. Choose to take a class because the professor has a chili pepper. And most importantly choose your favorite member of One Direction.

Just kidding. Most importantly choose to enjoy yourself, because 4 years will never move so fast again.