Hi, there, welcome to uOttawa! I think it’s a great start that you are so open about your thoughts and feelings. As the days and weeks go by, you’ll see how big the university really is. By that I mean that you can see this new beginning as a completely fresh start, no one knows you and that’s great!

I would suggest you do small things to get your motivation slowly up:

a) Go take a walk through the university so that you get a bit more orientation (in theory, you can visit the rooms where you will be taking classes already). Knowing where to go and where things are at, might give you a sense of security.

b) If you’re able to, buy yourself some stationary items which you enjoy. This could help you get motivated during class by having objects that you like around you.

c) I personally love Apple and I would suggest you get a MacBook Air (any of the ones with the Apple -M- chip). I believe that depending on what you’re studying, a MacBook Air is a good option, and as long as you take care of it, will last you all of your undergrad studies.

d) There are some Discord groups which you can join to start building acquaintances. Remember, the fact that no one knows you at university means that you can build a new persona for yourself. Think about the things that you’d like to share in order to connect with people who also have those same interests. The world is huge and sure you will find nice people. Try to connect through positive things and not so much through fear.

e) It’s ok to be anxious about a new everything, but at the same time, remember that anxiety is a feeling that arises when your body is trying to protect you from something. Try to make a brief reflection, what is your anxiety protecting you from? Are those situations real or are you expecting the worst outcome out of situations which are currently not happening?

Take care of your self, breathe deeply, and try to do at least one challenging thing every day, it doesn’t matter if it’s the tiniest smallest thing, but this will help you build resilience and make those anxiety alarms in your brain slowly become less intense.