What do you remember about your freshman year? The horrible dorms? The ridiculously annoying roommate? Getting no sleep whatsoever? Sure, those things were awful, and none of us would voluntarily repeat them, but I am sure I am no the only one who has fond memories of my first year on campus. Being a newbie has its benefits, so what do we miss most about freshman year?
1.) Care Packages – When you’re like me, leaving for college was the first time you stayed away from home for more than a week. So your parents probably freaked out and called you every day, wanting constant updates about your life. They were also probably convinced that you were in need of almost everything they could find on the shelves of CVS. Freshman parents send the best care packages hands down. They’ll throw in the standard bottle of shampoo you need and that t-shirt you forgot to pack, but they’ll follow it up with a box of homemade brownies, a new headband, maybe even a gift card to Forever21. Awesome right? Lucky freshmen. After that first year, care packages are a thing of the past.
2.) Your Floor – Sure, Warren closely resembles a prison, but there are few other environments where you can make 20 friends in a month. The common room was loud and often times a little gross, but it was way more fun doing homework in there than in a study lounge. There was floor drama, but I personally find myself missing the people arguing and slamming doors, and the stereotypical drunk screaming match in the hallway at 2am. Dorm style living has its pros and cons, but no one can deny that great friendships are made there. After that first year in Warren (or west!), most of us want to get as far away as possible, but you’ll never be that close to your neighbors again.
3.) The Freshman Excuse – Your first semester on campus, you get a lot of leeway. When you’re 10 minutes late to a meeting with your professor, you can blame it on not knowing where his office was. It’s a reasonable excuse for a freshman. Just like, I didn’t know that the elevators in Myles get stuck sometimes, no one told me that the mailroom printing closes at midnight, or, one of my favorites, I got on the med campus bus by mistake! These are all things that could happen to a freshman, but let’s be honest, by second semester, you should know which elevators to avoid, and that if something is due before 9, you need to send it to the printer before midnight.
4.) Caring about your appearance – We all did it, we spent close to an hour picking out the right outfit to roam around Allston in, we woke up way to early just to make sure we had time to shower, straighten our hair, put make up on, and pick out a presentable outfit, all for an 8 AM lecture where people were too tired to keep their eyes open, let alone analyze what you’re wearing. By sophomore year I’ve learned to put in effort when it counts, like avoiding wrinkled clothes and low cut tops for that one-on-one meeting with a professor. However it may be unreasonable to stress out about picking out the right sweatpants/t-shirt combo for a night hanging out in the dorms. As far as those 8 AM’s go, brushing your teeth and putting on real shoes is worthy of applause.
4.) Staying up all night – Yes, I know, I said that all-nighters were horrible, and they are. By the time 7AM rolls around your irritable, groggy, and speaking a language that’s somewhere between English and snoring. I pulled so many all nighters my freshman year that my days began to run into each other on a regular basis. This year I have trouble staying up past 4 in the morning, and physically cannot function the next day without taking a nap. It’s the sad and pathetic truth. The energy you have freshman year is unparalleled – you can basically go 48 hours without sleeping and still be awake enough to go out that night. These days, I require multiple cups of coffee to get through my days and a nap before starting the weekend. So while I don’t miss the actual all-nighters, I do miss being able to survive them.