As the beginning of the fall semester is approaching, with it comes a new breed of Huskies: incoming freshmen. While we love to hate them at times, inside all of us we do have a tiny spark that wishes we could go back and be in their place. Many of us wish we could tell our freshmen selves to study harder or perhaps even be a little more outgoing. Here are just a few things that I myself wish that I knew as a first semester freshman.
Take advantage of the library. Many of us would like to think that it is possible to study in the comfort of our own dorm or apartments. However, we all know that is quite the opposite of what happens when you have someone cooking a delicious meal or complaining to you about their weekend at home.
Rent books and compare prices. It can seem easy to just go to the bookstore as your one stop shop for all things textbook related. However, upperclassmen can tell you that while it can be nice to see a bit of money during textbook buybacks, the money you save on renting books and shopping around can be much greater.
Sometimes, just sometimes, you won’t even use your book. You generally don’t need your textbook for the first week of classes. During this so-called “syllabus week” you should be able to decide if you should drop $250 on a book that you use as a door stop.
When a professor tells you to read, READ. Some classes will lecture you and then the test will be based purely on the textbook reading and you will say “They didn’t teach us this in class though!” but the truth of the matter is, they don’t have to and they probably won’t. If you keep up with the reading, you can have an easier time when midterms and finals come around.
The hills of Bloomsburg can be tough to climb, but actually are a hidden gift. They help keep you in shape while eating late night buffalo chicken pizza every single night.
Prepare to get every sickness under the sun. I believe that dorms such as Elwell were put in our lives to strengthen our immune systems as adults. Sharing a dorm bathroom with a large amount of people allows a large amount of sicknesses to spread around. You can avoid this by drinking large amounts of vitamin C, eating right and washing your hands continuously.
When dealing with roommates, post-it notes are the most passive aggressive way to make someone hate you. If you have a problem, try and talk it out or see a CA to resolve issues.
Roommates are also a whole new breed of friend you will have never seen before. If you can find a good one or two they can be lifelong friends. They are the ones that pick you up when you are down, deal with your everyday craziness, make you a mean cup of ramen while you talk about your love life at 3 a.m. and are there through the toughest of times. They are also there even through the times when they accidentally walk in on you getting changed or are there to save you and remind you not to leave the blinds open when you are naked because you live across from the Commons and all of Bloomsburg can definitely see you.
Overall, we have to be a little jealous of freshmen because they still have all four years ahead of them to enjoy and make mistakes and learn from them. Meanwhile, the upperclassmen have graduation and student loans and the stress of finding a job to worry about.
Best of luck to our incoming class of 2018! Watch out, because it goes by even more quickly than high school.