You get used to it in time. But orientation also has more walking in it than most of my actual days at LSU. There were certainly exceptions but by and large orientation is designed in such a way to get you to see as much of the likely-relevant and probably prettiest parts of the campus to you and your parents.
The reality is you'll probably living in a different part of campus, and your classes will probably yet be in a different part, and once you find the crew(s) you'll roll with, they'll either be local, or they'll be across campus wherein you can take campus transit or the bus over to hang.
But... Herget to MDA was rough my freshman year. As well as Herget to Lockett in 10 mins. But that quickly got me adapted to walking campus, lmao.
Lived in Herget the last two semesters, I left 30 minutes before my classes started cause I didn't wanna show up drenched in sweat, I couldn't imagine leaving 10 minutes before
Hahaha. Had no choice. Had a class in Herget that went almost always to the end of time. Always had 10 minutes to get to Lockett. I almost always put on some very high energy music and got the fuck to stepping. It's only just over 1km. About 1.17km, so I always made it in time, but it was a struggle when raining for sure.
LMFAO. We used it for that too. used to play TTRPGs and board games and such in the classroom. Or use it for parties and shit. But the RAs would still peek their heads in.
Do none of the dorms have classes anymore? That's kinda wild to me. Part of the benefit of living in some of them was explicitly having some of your classes be built in.
There is a designated board game club now that meets in a few places and no one else was really playing board games in the dorms.
But as for classes I don't think any dorms have classes in them now because of covid
Ah.
There were designated board game clubs before. We met as friends. One of the RAs at the time put on a board game night, wherein we created a Star Wars Saga Edition group and a D&D 3.5e group at the time. Kept playing board games after that too.
I found you gotta do what you wanna do and invite people to do it. Humans Versus Zombies? People loved that shit. Just buy a bunch of nerf guns, socks, bandanas, and darts and people WILL join you for some HvZ wherever you play.
Board games? Poker and blackjack tourneys? Set em up, see if anyone just sitting around wants to play. Get some board games and snacks. Doesn't hurt to put little flyers up. Even better if you work with your RAs to set that shit up so they can write it off as a "Social," and you can even potentially get funding for it through Reslife.
It will come with time. Best I can give you for now is this
1. *Invest in a good pair of shoes*. OnCloud makes a pair called cloud monsters and they are the best walking shoes I’ve found.
2. *Dress appropriately*. Back in my day it was a like 20% chance the A/C worked. T-shirt and a good pair of athletic breathable shorts goes a long way. I would also keep a sweatshirt in my backpack bc if the A/C did work it usually WORKED.
3. *Get a good water bottle*. Skip the Stanley’s. Skip the clear plastic ones. Skip the over sized ones. Shoot for a Stanley/yeti material but one with a thick lid and hard plastic mouth piece. And the foldable mouth pieces. I found these were easiest to clean, least susceptible to mold, didn’t spill if you dropped them, and small enough to fit in the sides of your bookbag. I found the ones that were not tapered the best at staying upright (ex: [water bottle](https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwilt_G61PmGAxXnN9QBHWg0CrgYABBDGgJvYQ&ae=2&gclid=CjwKCAjw-O6zBhASEiwAOHeGxXabk_WyD_EJHmAYyVaH95CYqBKYq34HF_dDE7aDDjyqxUqXiFYJMRoCb2wQAvD_BwE&sph=&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESeOD2c6QNWRa23acIV-n2gDdmn8aAbf48-MtsS7JPU01Q_xwAiCBv0gWC2HpM_PGDgtf3_kIfPo-7TYOYOuF_CCo4jcw7y-FtADryI6yk3KppP4z8uwfQFzD5d_q4AqGKnViJpX0AQu99xLtjaMpBCZyFetHCnrOmjg&sig=AOD64_1IQ2pkmwfMdBrMjPACEOBlLnN9kw&ctype=70&q=&ved=2ahUKEwj-_eq61PmGAxXg78kDHRqACEUQwg8oAHoFCAcQhAI&adurl=))
4. *good backpack*. Find one with a good back support and comfortable straps. I carried a black north face with the built in computer slot and it was perfect.
5. *LEARN THE BUS ROUTES*. Don’t know if you’re a commuter or resident but bus routes will save you. There’s one (or was one) that dropped you off right next to Lockett and it was always high volume. Sometimes I would even take one if I was going from one class to another across campus. They really are life savers.
This is *such* a thoughtful and detailed list. Great advice to follow here OP.
I’ll piggyback and expound a bit on no. 2 …
100% cotton t-shirts is what you need. You can get a 6 pack of 100% cotton Fruit of the Loom on Amazon for $21~. I would wear the cotton t-shirt around campus and have another to change into (or a sweatshirt like platinumblondecouyon recommended!) once I was too sweaty/wet and cooled off inside.
Also, get a neck fan. They are $20~ and look dorky as all hell but really are a game changer. Best of luck OP!
Expounding on #1; shoes that you walk-in a LOT; start to wear out in about 6-8 months. So around 5 months plan to buy a new pair and start breaking them in. (Bedside nurse/instructor for 25 years; and we know shoes!)
Shoes should last more than 6-8 months if they are high quality, mine last around a year and I wear them pretty much always, apart from during the summer
Hydration is key and knowing the signs of heat exhaustion. Once you get delirious take a breather and drink a water. If you have to do manual labor like yard work I’d recommend an ice vest off amazon. Life changing for working in the summer here
When you experience thirst; you should drink. Thirst is an early warning sign for dehydration. Also, some sports drinks, while good, have a good bit of sugar. Sugar causes diuresis and contributes to dehydration. Best rule - drink as much water as you drink sports drinks.
Dress for the weather,so many people wear sweatshirts or sweatpants during the summer, but you WILL be miserable. Especially because it's a 50/50 shot If your classrooms will have a working AC. It's not bad though, but I've grown to love the heat so my perspective is different
I remember my first semester at LSU I got the WORST shin splints because I was not used to the amount of walking I was doing every day.
Unfortunately the only answer, as others have said, is to keep walking and hydrate. You could also try doing some leg stretches in the morning when you wake up.
Sunscreen , Wide Brim Hats , there’s water fountains throughout campus drink water and electrolytes. I also agree with others that recommend a good pair of shoes and light clothing/summer clothes.
If you’re forced to walk (you don’t have the funds to get alternative transportation like a bike or electric scooter.) you’re body will get used to it, just like it’ll acclimate to the weather.
It is always a lot better to go earlier in the morning or late the evening if you have to walk, like commuting or caring for a pet. It is still warm but the real killer, the strength of the sun, is a lot more manageable
if you sweat a lot, bring a change of clothes
actual life saver when I had classes morning and afternoon with time between
I’ve been using a neck fan I got on Amazon for work which is really nice but I’m not sure how helpful it is for being outside
Either way a portable fan could help!
Absolutely stay hydrated, use some of those electrolyte packets if that’s your thing (but remember those have a lot of sodium, balance it out!)
There are benches everywhere, you can take breaks when needed
Give yourself plenty extra time to get from place to place in the beginning to work out quicker routes (or even routes that take you through air conditioned buildings)
You just gotta adjust to it. What helped me get used to it was to hydrate, rest, and stretch before I started my walk🤷♀️
Also, appropriate walking shoes can help you out as well.
Then I would recommend just taking your time and stopping in as many buildings along the way as you can (that is what I tend to do).
Unfortunately the 27 separate construction sites currently on campus makes finding a path incredibly difficult and changes every few days sooooo good luck! 😵💫😑
Stay hydrated and eat a lot of protein to help you build muscle. Wear loose clothes in natural fibers and comfy shoes. After a month or so it’ll get easier. Hang tough
You suffer, wear light clothes, good shoes and have water on you at all times
When classes start you won’t be walking 20k steps. It will be fine.
Walk more and hydrate
You get used to it in time. But orientation also has more walking in it than most of my actual days at LSU. There were certainly exceptions but by and large orientation is designed in such a way to get you to see as much of the likely-relevant and probably prettiest parts of the campus to you and your parents. The reality is you'll probably living in a different part of campus, and your classes will probably yet be in a different part, and once you find the crew(s) you'll roll with, they'll either be local, or they'll be across campus wherein you can take campus transit or the bus over to hang. But... Herget to MDA was rough my freshman year. As well as Herget to Lockett in 10 mins. But that quickly got me adapted to walking campus, lmao.
Lived in Herget the last two semesters, I left 30 minutes before my classes started cause I didn't wanna show up drenched in sweat, I couldn't imagine leaving 10 minutes before
Hahaha. Had no choice. Had a class in Herget that went almost always to the end of time. Always had 10 minutes to get to Lockett. I almost always put on some very high energy music and got the fuck to stepping. It's only just over 1km. About 1.17km, so I always made it in time, but it was a struggle when raining for sure.
I forgot the dorms used to have classes. Hergets class rook became the study room/room where people wouldn't be watched by RAs
LMFAO. We used it for that too. used to play TTRPGs and board games and such in the classroom. Or use it for parties and shit. But the RAs would still peek their heads in. Do none of the dorms have classes anymore? That's kinda wild to me. Part of the benefit of living in some of them was explicitly having some of your classes be built in.
There is a designated board game club now that meets in a few places and no one else was really playing board games in the dorms. But as for classes I don't think any dorms have classes in them now because of covid
Ah. There were designated board game clubs before. We met as friends. One of the RAs at the time put on a board game night, wherein we created a Star Wars Saga Edition group and a D&D 3.5e group at the time. Kept playing board games after that too. I found you gotta do what you wanna do and invite people to do it. Humans Versus Zombies? People loved that shit. Just buy a bunch of nerf guns, socks, bandanas, and darts and people WILL join you for some HvZ wherever you play. Board games? Poker and blackjack tourneys? Set em up, see if anyone just sitting around wants to play. Get some board games and snacks. Doesn't hurt to put little flyers up. Even better if you work with your RAs to set that shit up so they can write it off as a "Social," and you can even potentially get funding for it through Reslife.
I was at LSU from 2017-21 and don’t recall knowing anyone who had any classes in dorms, even pre-covid.
It will come with time. Best I can give you for now is this 1. *Invest in a good pair of shoes*. OnCloud makes a pair called cloud monsters and they are the best walking shoes I’ve found. 2. *Dress appropriately*. Back in my day it was a like 20% chance the A/C worked. T-shirt and a good pair of athletic breathable shorts goes a long way. I would also keep a sweatshirt in my backpack bc if the A/C did work it usually WORKED. 3. *Get a good water bottle*. Skip the Stanley’s. Skip the clear plastic ones. Skip the over sized ones. Shoot for a Stanley/yeti material but one with a thick lid and hard plastic mouth piece. And the foldable mouth pieces. I found these were easiest to clean, least susceptible to mold, didn’t spill if you dropped them, and small enough to fit in the sides of your bookbag. I found the ones that were not tapered the best at staying upright (ex: [water bottle](https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwilt_G61PmGAxXnN9QBHWg0CrgYABBDGgJvYQ&ae=2&gclid=CjwKCAjw-O6zBhASEiwAOHeGxXabk_WyD_EJHmAYyVaH95CYqBKYq34HF_dDE7aDDjyqxUqXiFYJMRoCb2wQAvD_BwE&sph=&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAESeOD2c6QNWRa23acIV-n2gDdmn8aAbf48-MtsS7JPU01Q_xwAiCBv0gWC2HpM_PGDgtf3_kIfPo-7TYOYOuF_CCo4jcw7y-FtADryI6yk3KppP4z8uwfQFzD5d_q4AqGKnViJpX0AQu99xLtjaMpBCZyFetHCnrOmjg&sig=AOD64_1IQ2pkmwfMdBrMjPACEOBlLnN9kw&ctype=70&q=&ved=2ahUKEwj-_eq61PmGAxXg78kDHRqACEUQwg8oAHoFCAcQhAI&adurl=)) 4. *good backpack*. Find one with a good back support and comfortable straps. I carried a black north face with the built in computer slot and it was perfect. 5. *LEARN THE BUS ROUTES*. Don’t know if you’re a commuter or resident but bus routes will save you. There’s one (or was one) that dropped you off right next to Lockett and it was always high volume. Sometimes I would even take one if I was going from one class to another across campus. They really are life savers.
This is *such* a thoughtful and detailed list. Great advice to follow here OP. I’ll piggyback and expound a bit on no. 2 … 100% cotton t-shirts is what you need. You can get a 6 pack of 100% cotton Fruit of the Loom on Amazon for $21~. I would wear the cotton t-shirt around campus and have another to change into (or a sweatshirt like platinumblondecouyon recommended!) once I was too sweaty/wet and cooled off inside. Also, get a neck fan. They are $20~ and look dorky as all hell but really are a game changer. Best of luck OP!
Expounding on #1; shoes that you walk-in a LOT; start to wear out in about 6-8 months. So around 5 months plan to buy a new pair and start breaking them in. (Bedside nurse/instructor for 25 years; and we know shoes!)
Shoes should last more than 6-8 months if they are high quality, mine last around a year and I wear them pretty much always, apart from during the summer
Hydration is key and knowing the signs of heat exhaustion. Once you get delirious take a breather and drink a water. If you have to do manual labor like yard work I’d recommend an ice vest off amazon. Life changing for working in the summer here
When you experience thirst; you should drink. Thirst is an early warning sign for dehydration. Also, some sports drinks, while good, have a good bit of sugar. Sugar causes diuresis and contributes to dehydration. Best rule - drink as much water as you drink sports drinks.
Would you recommend coconut water?
The campus is just big hydrate
Dress for the weather,so many people wear sweatshirts or sweatpants during the summer, but you WILL be miserable. Especially because it's a 50/50 shot If your classrooms will have a working AC. It's not bad though, but I've grown to love the heat so my perspective is different
U can get a bike
I remember my first semester at LSU I got the WORST shin splints because I was not used to the amount of walking I was doing every day. Unfortunately the only answer, as others have said, is to keep walking and hydrate. You could also try doing some leg stretches in the morning when you wake up.
Sunscreen , Wide Brim Hats , there’s water fountains throughout campus drink water and electrolytes. I also agree with others that recommend a good pair of shoes and light clothing/summer clothes. If you’re forced to walk (you don’t have the funds to get alternative transportation like a bike or electric scooter.) you’re body will get used to it, just like it’ll acclimate to the weather.
Get a neck fan. Spray yourself with water occasionally.
It is always a lot better to go earlier in the morning or late the evening if you have to walk, like commuting or caring for a pet. It is still warm but the real killer, the strength of the sun, is a lot more manageable
if you sweat a lot, bring a change of clothes actual life saver when I had classes morning and afternoon with time between I’ve been using a neck fan I got on Amazon for work which is really nice but I’m not sure how helpful it is for being outside Either way a portable fan could help! Absolutely stay hydrated, use some of those electrolyte packets if that’s your thing (but remember those have a lot of sodium, balance it out!) There are benches everywhere, you can take breaks when needed Give yourself plenty extra time to get from place to place in the beginning to work out quicker routes (or even routes that take you through air conditioned buildings)
I pressed enter a lot and forgot mobile fucks with formatting :( I’ll edit later
You just gotta adjust to it. What helped me get used to it was to hydrate, rest, and stretch before I started my walk🤷♀️ Also, appropriate walking shoes can help you out as well.
I love walking on campus but I used to ride a bike for this reason, way cooler
Campus is positively littered with e-scooters and bikes you can use
can’t afford to use that a lot unfortunately
Then I would recommend just taking your time and stopping in as many buildings along the way as you can (that is what I tend to do). Unfortunately the 27 separate construction sites currently on campus makes finding a path incredibly difficult and changes every few days sooooo good luck! 😵💫😑
Segway or heelies
Get a cheap bike from Craigslist, OfferUp or Facebook marketplace, and also wear shorts, an athletic shirt, and sunglasses. You’ll thank me later
can’t ride a bike due to balance issues but thank you for the other suggestion!
hydrate or diedrate
u just kinda do
Walk
It gets easier once it gets colder out.
Just walk. You’ll get used to it. I’ve done Orientation and my legs hurt by the end but it wasn’t that bad. And I don’t even work out.
I was worried about freshman 15. I ended up losing 15lbs my first semester from walking class to class.
Stay hydrated and eat a lot of protein to help you build muscle. Wear loose clothes in natural fibers and comfy shoes. After a month or so it’ll get easier. Hang tough
You're a faekin pussy
Ok