To all those new, excited, nervous freshmen out there,
Welcome to college. I hope you’ve been enjoying the wild adventure you’ve started, but I also hope you’ve settled down by now and realized that you’re still here for an education—that orientation week can be quite the tease. Hopefully by now you’ve made some friends, and hopefully you’ve come to realize what an amazing place college is. No, it’s not just amazing because you can party and stay up late and eat junk food whenever without your parents yelling at you, it’s amazing because of all the opportunities and new experiences that are out there for you.
When I was a freshman, I was lost. After Orientation Week, I forgot classes actually took place at college. I was looking forward to four years of lying on my bed, going out at night, and eating Easy Mac for the rest of my life. Then the activities fair came, and I realized that productive things actually do take place at college!
If there’s any piece of advice I could give you all that will shape the next four years of your life, it’s get involved. I was so overwhelmed by how many opportunities there were at Pitt. From Greek life, to academic clubs, to Pathfinders, to community service, to anything you could possibly imagine, Pitt has it all. Joining activities at Pitt is the best way to meet new people, keep yourself busy, and most of all find something you’re passionate about. For me, I decided to join three things freshman year… needless to say it was a big undertaking, but it was totally worth it and I’m still an active member in each of them this year!
You may also feel confident going into your first year of college classes. You owned it in high school, and you’re ready to get straight A’s. Without shattering your vision, this can be very rare for your first semester of college. Between settling in, adjusting to the freedom, and the difference in work between high school and college, you may not do as great in a class as you wanted. I’ve had numerous amounts of friends who have failed classes—I didn’t exactly do as great as I had planned to do in calculus either, and I’m still bitter about it to this day. But the best part about being a freshman is that you have so much time until you graduate to work harder, learn from your mistakes, and re-take that class to get an A!
Academics and extracurricular activities aside, college is a new experience, so yes, you are allowed to have fun! For me, freshman year was an amazing year. It was filled with funny moments, adventures, crazy nights, or even nights spent eating a lot and watching TV marathons and sports games. Yet, it was also filled with drama, whether it be with my girl friends or guys. Just remember that in the long run, your true friends and the worthy guy will be there through everything, not just lost in your freshman year. Don’t sweat the small drama; freshman year is meant to be full of stupid fights with your roommate, embarrassing nights, and hookups. In the end, you’ll be able to look back on it all with a reminiscent smile and wish you could go back to it all, even the bad times.
Just remember, freshmen: it’s your year. Make every moment of it count, whether it be studying for a test in your hardest class, or spending the night hanging with your friends. You may feel like the small people on campus who everyone can just look at and label as a freshman, but in reality, all of us upperclassmen would do anything to be you again. So own your freshman moments, because they’ll be a great story to tell next year.
Over and out,
Katie Piscopio
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