Blog Post
10 experiences every college student should have
College can be a reset button. A chance to meet people who get you, try new things, and build a life that feels bigger than high school. But queer community doesn’t always show up in a neat little package on day one. Sometimes you find it fast. Sometimes you find it in pieces. Either way, these ten moves can help you create a college experience where you feel connected, supported, and fully yourself.
10. Have one “I belong here” moment. Or create the safe space you need.
Go somewhere or to something where you can just be you. A queer org meeting, a trans support space, a Pride planning committee, a queer book club, a casual coffee hang. “And if that kind of community doesn’t already exist, build it yourself,” Youth Voices alum Hammy says. “Create the safe space you’re looking for, not just for you, but for other people who are searching for the same thing.”
9. Find your “people” through a niche interest, not just LGBTQ spaces.
Bowling league, art club, intramural sports, campus radio, student paper, gaming group, outdoor club—queer joy loves a side quest, and it’s a great way to meet friends who aren’t only friends because you’re queer.
8. Explore the local arts/music scene
Open mics, gallery shows, small theaters, campus performances. College towns often have queer-friendly arts pockets even when the town looks “quiet” on paper.
7. Take one class that centers queer lives or queer history
Not because you have to major in it, but because it can change how you understand yourself (and make you feel less alone). Seek out queer-centered courses and professors who “get it.”
6. Get plugged into one activist or social justice space
Pick one issue you care about and learn how change actually gets made—student government, mutual aid, labor organizing, voting access, reproductive justice, trans rights, racial justice coalitions.
5. Learn the campus “support system map” before you need it
Know where to go if you need to: LGBTQ center, trusted staff, bias reporting, counseling, dean of students, housing staff. You don’t want to be googling this mid-crisis. File “making a safety plan with friends” under this too.
4. Use health resources and prioritize your well-being
Normalize seeking out sexual health services, STI testing, counseling, gender affirming care, and whatever you need to feel steady.
3. Build one “chosen-family tradition”
Weekly dinner, Sunday walk, library study date, movie night, pre-exam breakfast. The tradition matters more than the activity. It’s an anchor that makes a place feel like home.
2. Register to vote (and learn local politics where you live now)
Your zip code matters, and college is often the first time you’re living under a new set of laws and local power structures.
1. Have the time of your life
Be yourself, try things that push you out of your comfort zone, make mistakes, surround yourself with new people and experiences. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Enjoy it.