This Welcome Week, NYU Local has picked four freshmen (three in New York, one in Abu Dhabi) to document their first days of college. Every day, we will be posting their diaries so you can get a feel for what it’s like to be a freshman starting a new life in New York City.

There is obviously no “right” way to do Welcome Week at NYU, so we thought we’d give you four takes on it. Other freshmen, feel free to join in on Tumblr and post your own diaries — use the tag “NYU Welcome Week” in your post.

Today, we’ll be introducing you to our diarists (we thought it was best to let them move in without distraction). We’re pleased to present the freshest of the fresh meat.

Becky

Bec, Rebecca, Becky…what name to go by? I’ve been told college is a time to reinvent yourself, but as of now, I’m the same old 18-year-old. I go by Becky and I’m from that island next to Manhattan – also known as Long Island. This tropical vacation spot is home to a superfluous amount of diners, North Shore kids who pay thousands for others to take their SAT for them, and extremely opinionated Urban Dictionary definitions.

The perfect place to raise a future Manhattanite, no?

I spent most of my life figuring I’d be an artist until applying for college rolled around. It dawned on me that it’s not the best time to become one, nor was it the perfect time to sign up for one of the country’s most expensive schools. Somehow I’m here anyway.

Currently I’m enrolled in the Liberal Studies Program until I transfer to Gallatin my junior year. The Class of 2016 is still trying to figure out what that’s about. Until the mystery is solved, I’ll be trying to navigate the city without giving away my newbie status. I’ll be staying at the ice-cold Rubin Hall. I’ve been called a hippie for one reason or another, though I imagine everyone is to some extent in the village. Being a vegetarian might be one reason why, or maybe it’s the whole art and “earth lovin’, green livin’” thing I’ve got going on.

I look forward to shedding light about the good and the downright ugly times of Welcome Week 2012.

PS, @NYUWelcomeWeek2012, give me VIP passes to Zombie Ball already.

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Cole

I am Cole. 5’9, 156 pounds of rugged handsomeness and corn-fed intellectualism. Raised and groomed in the fine flyover state that is Iowa, I have been afforded every year the cultural Mecca of the Iowa State Fair. Where else can one find a cow sculpted from butter and giants juggling midgets, all congregating in one area? If you answered, “Impossible,” you may be correct, as I’ve yet to see multiple midgets tumbling in the air (only one). I also possess somewhat of a decent capacity to put thoughts to words, quite possibly due to my grandfather, who finished third in the 1987 Ernest Hemingway lookalike contest.

Contrary to many people’s beliefs, there are, in fact, cities and people and things that are not pigs and corn in Iowa. Although having spent most of my life in Des Moines, Iowa, I am originally from Minneapolis. I spent several years there getting my bearings and mastering life’s necessities, including walking and playing with Tonka trucks. From there my family and I took a brief detour from Midwestern cities and lived for a week in Bangor, which I’m told is a city in Maine. Understandably, any memory from this East Coast venture escapes me.

Throughout my years in high school I was heavily involved in my school’s drama department, which included a Globe Theatre-worthy performance as Sir Toby Belch in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. In addition to theatre, I was an inaugural member of my school’s cultural awareness group and served as president of my school’s student council. This past May I somehow managed to complete the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

I am an avid fan of cinema and music. Among my favorite films are Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise and Jacques Audiard’s Un prophete. My music idols include Patrick Stickles, Kendrick Lamar, and Kanye West. I am studying Film and Television Production at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, with an interest in both documentary work and writing.

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Kelly

I can’t sleep on airplanes. I’m not sure why. Something about being trapped with a collection of strangers in a flying metal death-tube above the clouds just disconcerts me for some reason.

I mention this because, as I introduce myself to a vast and anonymous group of people, I want to appear relatable. I’ve actually assembled a whole list of relatable-sounding observations, among them being my suspicion that no one honestly enjoys parades. Think about it: You don’t enjoy them either. If this were a real conversation, we would have just chuckled companionably together.

Hi, I’m Kelly. I come from Upstate New York, from a housing development that was supposed to become a town, but lost funding, and now sits self-consciously in the middle of some corn fields. Growing up, my friends and I were always surrounded by nature but never quite sure what to do with it. Consequentially, we spent our childhoods setting brush fires with household cleaning agents. Purell, if anyone’s curious, burns with a clear flame.

Some time after the Great Let’s-Put-Fireworks-in-a-Soda-Can Incident of ’09, I decided against becoming a professional arsonist and instead devoted my time to becoming an adult. This, by most counts, was a spectacular failure. My efforts were not completely in vain, however, and I won an award for my portrayal of a dancing cow in my school’s production of “Into the Woods.” I also lead my soccer team in yellow cards received but I wasn’t allowed to include that in my college application.

And now I’m here at NYU. I’m double-majoring in English and Journalism. Looking back, this introduction isn’t nearly as relatable as I’d hoped. Oh, well. If I were an animal, I’d be something cool, like a giraffe or an otter. My favorite color is blue.

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Diana

Hello, I’m Diana from Dallas, Texas. (Obligatory “Howdy y’all!”)

I attend NYU Abu Dhabi. This time last year, you couldn’t have convinced me that I would be studying in the United Arab Emirates. I discovered NYU Abu Dhabi whilst filling out the Common Application supplement for NYU. I devoured the website and fell in love. Fast-forward two months and I’m invited to a Candidate Weekend. Fast-forward another month and I’m screaming in my room after opening my acceptance email. This Marhaba week is going to be insane. I’m in college. In Abu Dhabi. There are a million things I want to do at once. I must clone myself by tomorrow.

Some tidbits about me:

• I like those Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty commercials. They feature a happy boy band singing about the beverage. Why do they not air anymore? Big mistake, Wendy’s.
• On the subject of boy bands, my friend showed me this video recently: EXQUISITE
• In high school, I took a lot of visual arts classes and I love to draw. I plan to major in political science and/or history. Go figure!
• Tidbits are hard to think of when you haven’t slept in almost two days (14 hour flight, yuck).
• My favorite color is usually red. Sometimes it’s blue.
• Shawarma is delicious (not about me, but I appreciate its deliciousness)
• Tennis is my favorite sport.
• I’m taking Arabic this semester!
• Those are all the tidbits I could think of.

I am typing this introduction from my suite in Sama Tower in Abu Dhabi. With a glance out the window to my right I see Sheikh Zayed’s face. In my roommate’s words, “Hot.”

Here’s a picture: