Staring your freshman year at college can be stressful. Of course, a large part of the nerves come from the ever looming idea of making all new friends, taking difficult classes, and leaving your home. But the main reason students are so scared of their freshman year in college is because they just spent the entirety of their senior year of high school mocking every freshman they saw, and they know they will soon find themselves in that same unsettling situation that is the first year. So, freshman, when you find yourself walking around campus like a lost puppy, and some guy on a long board almost runs into you muttering, “freshman” as he speeds off, consider these reasons why being a freshman is actually pretty great.
1. Everything is new.
Upperclassmen are constantly complaining about how (insert random fraternity name) always has the lamest parties or that Late Night City Bistro actually has the worst pizza ever but, to a freshman, none of that matters. For the first few weeks of school every gross fraternity party you go to, every questionable meal you eat at the dining hall, and every boring professor you have is made alright by the fact that you are still enjoying the new and exciting “I’m in college” feeling and, until that fades, any new college experience will be welcomed with open arms.
2. You are still rocking that high school body.
The freshman fifteen is a real thing, unfortunately, and it can hit you at anytime. It may end up being when you decide to study abroad in Italy and eat nothing but pasta for every meal, or when you finally get your own apartment and realize you cannot actually cook and are forced to order take out every day. Remember all of those times your mom made you stay home and eat a nutritious meal instead of going to Wendy’s with your friends? Well, it paid off. Unfortunately, it might fade quickly when you realize the only item the dining halls can make correctly is French Fries.
3. You have four more years.
Of course it is easy to cringe when you do the “Charleston shuffle” and get smirks from upperclassmen, or when you have to stop and check the on campus maps to get your bearings, but these moments will pass after the first initial weeks, and then you still get to bask in the glory of having 4 wonderful years left in Charleston.
The upperclassmen may have their routes down and know where the most uneven bricks are located. They could also probably tell you which parties are actually worth attending and lead you to the best, and cheapest, late night restaurants. They definitely know which streets should be avoided at night, but with four more years in the most seemingly perfect place, you should not want to give up being a freshman for anything.
photo credit: http://blog.cachinko.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/college-freshme…