As my freshman year of college is coming to an end (a concept that is crazy for me to even grasp), I have had so many experiences and learned more things in this short period of time than I ever thought I would. From classes to clubs and parties to people, I have gathered more new information in these past few months than I ever thought possible.
Here is just a little…
1. GO TO CLASS!
This one might seem painfully obvious but at the same time that unavoidable 8:00 am you might think about skipping to get a few extra minutes of sleep, or that lecture you think might be okay to keep missing because you are one of 320 students in the seats and “no one will notice if you’re gone”. This was exactly the mentality I had, and I will tell you it catches up with you eventually. You will be much more stressed when you are struggling to catch up on notes you miss from the lectures you don’t go to. The best thing for you and your grades is to GO TO CLASS.
2. Find Your Group.
Going through freshman year is scary as it is. Going through freshman year alone is even scarier. Join a club or two, make friends with the people in your lecture halls, even rush Greek Life if that seems like your thing. Make sure you have a group of people around you that will make your year a little easier and will offer up a laugh or a shoulder to cry on when you are in need of one. I can say that once I found some friends to hang out with, college suddenly seemed like a much scary place.
3. Keep Mom And Dad On Speed Dial.
Back when you were younger, it probably seemed like your parents were doing everything in their power to annoy you and be the most obnoxious people they could be (whether intentional or not). Now that you are no longer living at home and have some distance from them, you probably miss your parents more than you ever thought you would. Make sure you give your parents a call to ease the distance. I learned that one of the best feelings is getting off of the phone after a phone call or a facetime with my mom, she always knows exactly what to say in order to make me feel less nervous or less stressed about what I have going on. A pep talk from a parent can make the whole day go better.
4. Naps Are EVERYTHING.
Naps really do solve A LOT of problems. Sad? Nap. Procrastinating? Nap. Need sleep? Nap. Naps are one of the things that are always on the mind of sleep-deprived college students. With the crazy schedules we run on, we learn to take naps whenever and wherever we can manage to. Often opting for 20-minute power naps between classes. Even a small amount of sleep can be the pick me up need to get through the day.
5. Keep In Contact With Your Friends.
Make sure to call your old friends from high school regularly. The people who helped you get through before you left for school and still have a special place in your heart will be the same people that will help you get through those really tough moments. Speaking from experience, a phone call of facetime from one of my high school friends can brighten my mood unlike anything else.
6. Don’t Stick With A Roommate That Makes You Miserable.
Your roommate might not be your best friend, but the two of you should at least be civil with one another to the point where the two of you can live with each other in the same room or the same vicinity. If at any point during the year, you feel weird about your living situation, don’t hesitate to reach out for help in moving. Coming from someone who experienced roommate trouble during the first semester, I can say that living with a bad roommate adds a lot of stress to an already stressful environment. Don’t let a bad living situation affect you and your education.
7. It’s Okay To Be Unsure About Your Future.
Don’t worry if you aren’t 100% sure about what you want to do with your future. Or even if you aren’t sure about what you want your major to be going into classes. College is one of those places where it is okay and even EXPECTED to be unsure about what you are doing with your future. Most people go in with a general idea of what they are doing and change that idea along the way. I would say that having a general idea is a good start, but don’t stress about having a fully fleshed out plan of what to do with your future.
8. Know It Isn’t Going To Be Easy.
Freshman year was NOTHING like I was expecting it to be. I was expecting it to be different and stressful, but I wasn’t expecting it to be even half as stressful as it ended up being in reality. With all of the classes, and the clubs, and the piles of homework that come on top, free time became something of a fantasy. I learned to function on very little sleep (4 hours or less), and how to make it across the campus in 10 minutes. But most importantly, I learned to take a deep breath and go one day at a time. Because no matter what happens, it is all going to be okay in the end.