The only feeling that rivals the one felt upon a student’s first approach to Brandeis University on move-in day is the feeling of returning there for another academic year. The sunshine that glimmers off the glass exterior of the Shapiro Science Center upon ascending Loop Road is breathtaking; the summer colors abound magnificent. During the last two years I have associated the final approach to Brandeis with “The Boys Are Back” by Boston’s favorite Celtic punk band, The Dropkick Murphys.

Although the song relentlessly says that “The boys are back, and they’re looking for trouble,” it is also about homecoming in Massachusetts. Brandeis is our home and our community; that doesn’t change. What does change is what we make of our time at our home and with our community. For first-years, the approach to Brandeis signifies a fresh start to break out of the high school mindset and explore new things. For the rest of us returning students, it signifies a chance at a new beginning.

First-years: The initial move-in process and Orientation can be frightening, to say the least. Everything seems foreign and out of place. It is overwhelming at times, but we all get through it. We all emerge from Orientation as members of the close-knit community. Take this opportunity and run with it. Sign up for many clubs at the activities fair, explore campus with your fellow residents and share a laugh with your OL groups.

Remember that your Orientation Leaders, Roosevelt Fellows and Undergraduate Departmental Representatives (UDR) are here to help, so don’t be afraid to ask questions! Don’t feel boxed in by your academic plans or refrain from taking that interesting course, because those plans could change. Your first year here is teeming with possibilities, and there is nothing more important than keeping an open mind.

The same concept holds true for upperclassmen. Even if we have been through the process before and we have solidified our academic plans and we are in clubs we love, be sure to maintain that open mind. After all, the new year brings a chance for change.

Now is the time for everyone to develop new and better academic habits. Academic performance from last year means little now. How we go about our next set of courses is what’s important. The only thing that breaking out of a previous comfort zone can do is bring new possibilities. Even as a rising junior, I still intend on joining a new club, meeting new people and making alterations to my academic habits.

There is no harm or shame in asking a UDR a question, and there is nothing wrong with making changes to your academic and social experiences at Brandeis. Time and time again we hear stories about how people wish they could have taken that one course or have joined that club. Here’s the point: There is still time.

The Brandeis experience does not become set in stone after some arbitrary period of time. It is fluid until the day we graduate. All of us have the same opportunity to try something new at the beginning of another semester, from classes to clubs. Don’t limit yourself to some perceived prescription of what you can or can’t do because any one of your years at Brandeis will arguably grant you the most freedom to try new things than you will have ever had or will ever have outside of the undergraduate experience.

A natural reaction to reading an opinion like this would be to say, “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do,” in the words of “LOST’s” John Locke. This is exactly the mindset I seek to spur: that nobody can tell you what and what not to do during your time in college. If we keep ourselves to the limiting recommendations of others and not make the most of our college experiences, what would Louis Brandeis say?

The famed justice and our namesake once said that “Organization can never be a substitute for initiative or for judgment.” As scholars, we must question the things we are told as fact and necessary and make judgments for ourselves. That is how we will shape the next generation of leaders, through inquiry and exploring new avenues. That starts at the most basic level: by not being afraid to challenge our comfort zones and continuously trying something new.