GET INVOLVED

his is the common consensus amongst teachers, seniors and students. “It’s important to interact, network and socialise. Initially, I

as slightly hesitant but getting involved in made my college life so much more

fun”, says Shetty. So join an activity or inter-est group that excites you. You can either par-ticipate in the stream of events or get involved in organisation. Either way you’ll get to make new friends, learn new skills and feel more connected to your home for the next few years.

MAKE A CONNECTION

It might be a good idea in the first week to meet one new person in each of your classes. It will expand your network of friends and might turn out to be a crucial resource at times when you have to miss a class. “I made some of my best friends by starting a random conversation with the person sitting next to or behind me in class,” says Rao.

REACH OUT FOR HELP

Many colleges have health and counselling centres. If you’re sick or feeling isolated or depressed, go speak to a counsellor. If such a person is not available, then Gupta suggests that you open up to friends whom you share

don’t have to face these issues by yourself.

SAVE POCKET MONEY

If you’ve never had to budget, now is the time to start. Find ways to stretch your pocket money the best you can. “I set myself a limit for the week, and set aside an amount for emergencies,” says Rao. “There will be days when your phone has no charge and you’re stuck somewhere far from home. Having re-serve cash means you can take a cab back home without having a complete meltdown.”

INVOLVE YOUR PARENTS

Rao says keeping parents in the loop about her busy college life helps. “When your par-ents know what you’re doing, they are less worried and hence easier on curfews.” If you’re staying back on campus to do some-thing constructive, then explain to them why it’s important. While parents may worry about all the hours you’re spending away from home, they’d also understand the rea-son behind it. So, give them credit for having tolerated you even through your testing school life and include them, as much as pos-sible, in your college experience.

Check out tomorrow’s edition to know what you need in your new college wardrobe

Are video games harming our kids?

Anew study is now warning that this could change the way that children use their brains, leading to mental ill-nesses such as dementia and

depression. The research, by the University of Montreal, found that sus-tained gaming could lead youngsters to neglect parts of their brains, with devastating results. Scientists moni-tored the brain activity and eye move-ments of gamers using state-of-the-art “skull caps” and compared them with those of non-gamers. They found gam-ers were more likely than non-gamers to use an area of the brain referred to as the “reward system”, rather than the hippocampus, which controls memo-ry, learning and emotion.

Lead author Dr Gregory West explains: “This means people

who play a lot of action video games could have reduced hippocampal integrity, which is associated with increased risk for neurological disor-ders such as Alzheimer’s disease.”

Researchers at Ohio State University found teenagers who spent long periods playing violent games such as Grand Theft Auto felt exempt from ethical standards the rest of us live by and showed less self-restraint. Study author Brad Bushman said this made gamers more aggressive and made them “eat more and cheat more”. Psychologist Dr Aric Sigman says: “There are concerns among neuroscientists that this dopamine being produced every single day for many years, through, for example, playing computer games, may change the reward circuitry in a child’s brain and make them more dependent on screen media.” –Daily Mirror

Hours spent in front of the gaming console can lead to mental illness