Three years ago, I was a freshman on Auburn University’s campus.
Yes, that’s me on the right. There’s so much I wish I could tell my younger self, like scrunchies will make a comeback and don’t overdo it with the Instagram filters.
I’d never lived outside of my small town in Georgia, and for me, Auburn was a big, new place full of strangers. But it quickly became my home, the place I missed during my summers and my brief vacations. It didn’t happen that way overnight. My love for Auburn, from its beautiful campus to the wonderful people that I befriended, developed over the course of my freshman year.
I journaled a lot that year, writing down every detail, from the football games to the late-night trips I made with my friends, afraid that I’d miss a moment if I didn’t put it on paper. I didn’t look at that journal until recently, and I realized that there were five recurring thoughts/issues I had that year. Looking back now, I realize that the solutions to these issues are simple. But for all the freshmen, both on Auburn’s campus and on campuses across the country, here are five things I wish I could tell my freshman self.
1. You don’t have to go home so often.
I was homesick a lot my first semester. My roommates and friends were stunned that I would leave every away game and head back home, watching it in my living room with my family instead of in my dorm. I think I only stayed on campus for three weekends if there wasn’t a football game. I imagine I was afraid of missing something. I’d just left the only home I’d ever known, and I worried that something might change or my hometown friends would forget me. But the out-of-sight, out of mind mentality did not hold up.
Your true friends will find ways to keep up with you. If you’re chasing them to keep up with them, then let them go. Make new friends at your school by staying on campus. You’ll bond more over the late-night Waffle House runs than you will during the school week.
2. Don’t be afraid to go outside your comfort zone.
I came to Auburn feeling like an outsider. Most of the people I passed had friends they brought with them from high school. I learned to talk to everybody and took every opportunity to make friends. Just because you don’t start the semester out knowing anyone doesn’t mean it will stay that way. Put together group studies; suggest going off campus with some people in your building.
You can also join a group. Auburn has 500+ organizations to join. Find something you’re passionate about. If you’re a writer, like me, join your student newspaper or your local Her Campus chapter! Or if you like to bake, find a cooking/baking club. Or hang out in your dorm’s kitchen and see if someone’s making something and needs help. Whatever it is, don’t be afraid to reach out to others and make new friends.
3. Take your headphones out.
I’m still guilty of doing this sometimes. I’ll look down at my phone, turn my volume on Spotify all the way up and walk down the concourse. I’ll tune in to whatever song I’m listening to instead of looking up to see what’s going on around me. College goes by quickly. The best opportunity of your life could walk right by and you wouldn’t know it. It could be an organization that’s looking for new members or someone from class you want to get lunch with. It could be your crush for all you know, and you would walk right past him, missing the perfect opportunity to talk to him.
Look up and look around. Your time flies by so quickly that it’s a shame to waste it being plugged into your phone instead of what’s going on around you.
4. Spur of the moment is good.
I’m very Type-A. I plan everything and sign up for more than I actually should. Everything I did my freshman year was planned out to the T, from what I would wear to whose car we’d take. But the best memories I have from that year are from spur-of-the-moment trips to the movies with my friends or learning to skateboard in the lobby of our dorm when I walked downstairs.
I still remember walking back from Village Dining and seeing a group of my friends from my building skateboarding down the Village Concourse. I remember staying up late with my friends in the lobby until four in the morning. These were not planned whatsoever, but those are the memories I love the most.
5. You’re not perfect.
When you come from the high school environment, where you were the big fish in the little pond, you think you have something to prove when you first start school. That there’s a pressure to have your whole life mapped out on day one. Or that you have to take every class you sign up for or stay in the major you signed up for on orientation.
This took me forever to realize, but no one is meant to be perfect. Make mistakes. Try new things. Don’t be afraid of failure.
Life is not meant to be lived perfectly. It’s beautiful in that we try and fail, but we keep trying. Just because you fail a class does not mean you’re the worst person on campus or that you’ll never have a great future. No one does everything perfectly, so why hold yourself to unachievable standards?
I survived my freshman year. My friend group changed a little bit each year as some people transferred or dropped out, but I still have the same group of people that I surrounded myself with originally. It feels weird looking back on what was three years ago and to see how much I’ve changed since I was the bright, fresh-faced freshmen on Auburn’s campus. But I’m excited for the future, just as all of you should be excited for what the next four years will bring.