You probably remember (or don’t want to remember) the first time you set foot on the glorious grounds of UC Berkeley. Maybe it was for a campus tour when you were a wee high schooler. Maybe it was with your parents glued to your sides as you moved into your dorms as a wee freshman.

Fear. Anxiety. Adrenaline. Hope. Excitement. Magic (disclaimer: what happens at UC Berkeley isn’t magic; it just feels that way). Dread. Hellfire licking at your heels.

These are all things you likely felt as you entered from Bancroft Way or Hearst Avenue or Oxford Street or one of the secret entrances that Tom Hanks uses in “Inferno.”

As a first-timer on your college tour road trip, you were an innocent soul, one who didn’t know the fiery ways of the city that may one day become your new home. As a brand new college student, you’d probably heard your share of horror stories by now, but you still decided that UC Berkeley was right for you. You were drawn by the liberalness, the academics and the prestige.

Now it’s all here in front of you.

You’ve seen the Campanile rise above the buildings as you drive back from San Francisco on I-580. It looms above you as you walk down Haviland Path toward Memorial Glade.

You’ve heard the stories about the seals and take care not to step on them. You don’t need that bad luck in your life. It’s as if you already go here.

You’ve made it to Sather Gate, the one from all the pictures. You take a picture as well — a christening of your presence on campus.

It’s hard to take it all in: the historical protests, actual college students roaming, actual prospective college students roaming (aka competition), the myriad of trees, the landmarks. You’d only ever heard of all of this. It’s sneaking up on you real fast. You’re suddenly not a kid anymore (though you can still act like one … sometimes). But you’ve still got a little time.

So what is it like stepping foot on UC Berkeley’s campus for the first time?

It’s mesmerizing, it’s nerve-racking and it’s actually pretty tiring because there are so many hills — but we need the exercise anyway. It makes you feel small but so full of hot air and opportunity. This is what everyone talks about. Of course, it’s up to you to make use of those opportunities and make something of them.

Now it’s your turn.

Contact Pooja Bale at [email protected].