Where is my bed? Where are my parents? Where are my dogs? Where is my favorite meal? Where are my high school friends that know everything about me? How do I not look like I am completely lost all the time? How do I get invited to parties? These are just a few questions that flow through a freshman’s mind as he or she begins their college experience. All of a sudden, a moment that you think you’ve prepared for just smacks you in the face and you have no idea what to do about it. Everything that you were used to suddenly disappears and you are lost in an abyss of other lost freshman, along with upper classmen who seem to know exactly what they are doing.
First of all, if you are anything like me, you went from being in a queen-sized bed with nine pillows to a twin-sized bed that you also tried fitting nine pillows on (warning, it doesn’t work if you plan on fitting yourself in the bed also). I’d be lying if I said I didn’t almost fall out of my bed the first few nights I slept in my dorm.
Second, you should note that dining halls don’t serve your favorite home-cooked meals that you eat all the time. Shocker, I know. I have gotten used to my luxurious salad bar choice that my friends have dubbed “the Liv.” While lettuce, chickpeas, radishes, and balsamic vinaigrette does not compare to my mom’s homemade chili, I’ll settle. And speaking of food, I wouldn’t expect to eat out all the time either. Another struggle that comes with being a freshman, or a college student in general, is the idea of being on a strict budget. Do I really need to order twenty dollars worth of sushi or should I be saving up for the winter clothes that I don’t have because I’m from Miami?
Third, it would be great if I could somehow automatically instill my past memories and experiences into the minds of my new college friends. When I tell my friends from home about my awkward encounters or how good my meal was at Kazumi (our favorite sushi restaurant), they know exactly who and what I am talking about. And that’s certainly not the case here. I used to think my life was boring until I tried condensing eighteen years of life into twenty minutes. It turns out that I have accomplished a lot.
Fourth, I greatly miss my parents telling me exactly what to do and exactly when to do it. However now when I ask for help, I get the “Liv, you’re old enough to make your own decisions” lecture. While I wish my parents had that mentality in high school, I’m starting to miss them constantly telling what to do. After eighteen years of supervision, I was liberated and given ample amounts of freedom, but to be honest, I don’t really know what to do with it yet.
Lastly, getting lost and not knowing how to navigate the social scene come hand in hand. I wish I could articulate how often I relied on Google Maps my first weeks of classes. There were definitely a few days where I ended up in front of a trashcan instead of the chemistry building. However, I’d soon come to understand that I have bigger issues than turning left instead of right on Jordan Avenue. Getting lost and trying to be social (and sometimes failing to be) seem to be popular topics for college freshman. We are supposed to meet nearly hundreds of new people and somehow figure out a way to get them to invite us to random events. Talk about small talk going out the window. When normally, I would awkwardly end a conversation in hopes that the particular person didn’t realize how uncomfortable I was, I instead have to, still awkwardly, say “what are you doing later?” just to ensure I wouldn’t spend my entire freshman year watching Netflix in my room.
I realize that I made college sound a little more strenuous than it actually is. Truth be told, being a freshman is just as fun as your fun Aunt that graduated a million years ago told you it would be. Yes, there are some adjustments to be made, however, at least there is hope considering you have four years to shape your experiences.