New Student Chronicles: Nicole Sanabria

As our dedicated readers may remember, each semester I ask new students to serve as guest bloggers to chronicle their first semester here at USF in the Communication Studies Department. Today I’m excited today to feature one of our new student guest bloggers, Nicole Sanabria! Let’s hear from her…

“Hi everyone! My name is Nicole Sanabria and I am a freshman at the University of San Francisco. I hail from sunny SoCal! I still remember all too clearly leaving my house in Upland, CA with the thermometer in the car reading: 98°F. When we were driving into the city, I just remember watching the temperature drop from mid-70s to high-50s. My immediate reaction was one of worry and surprise. I knew it was going to be cold, but I was not prepared for temperatures that I experienced only a couple of weeks out of the winter. I can definitely say that I have come to love SF weather though!

New COMS major Nicole!

I had visited the campus the summer before my senior year of high school so I vaguely remembered it, but on move-in day the reality of it really hit me. It was everything that I was looking for!  It still had a college vibe, but it was modern and urban; I did not feel like I had been dropped off in the middle of nowhere. I realized that I would be living here for the next year and I was genuinely excited to experience this new phase of my life. I knew that I had made the right choice to attend USF. I couldn’t picture a better school and city that would allow me to question, grow, and become more independent and secure with myself.

As excited as I was to be here, I still had the classic worries of any freshman. I was excited and nervous about being away from home and about having to rely on myself for everything. Thankfully, I quickly become great friends with some of the girls on my floor and they have proven to be my support system here in San Francisco. They are becoming such a part of me, much the same way that the city is becoming a part of me. I now feel like a native and not a tourist navigating the Muni which gives me a sense of pride. I love knowing all the possible routes to take and the connections to make. I’m not going to lie though, Google maps can only help so much! I have been surprised to find that I have a pretty decent sense of direction!

Nicole and her friends navigating muni

The weekends are always the highlight because there is always some exploratory journey to go on. All the neighborhoods are so diverse, eccentric, and entertaining that you can always find something going on. Some of my favorites have been the Greek Food Festival that we found in the Mission where I ate way too much baklava, and uber-hip Dolores Park. Of course, there is always the joy of Union Square and all the shopping that always leads to buyer’s remorse! I love seeing the distinct changes from one district of the city to an entirely different one. It’s one of the reasons why I am coming to love the city so much!

YUMMY

I could not feel any happier or secure with my decision to come to San Francisco and I can honestly see myself forming a life here!”

Thanks, Nicole! We are so glad to hear that you are enjoying your first semester here at USF! We’ll check in with Nicole later in the semester…

Do you have any advice for Nicole and our other new students? Comment back and share your wisdom!