1. It’s okay to move onMoving away from home and adjusting to a new environment is not easy. Freshman year, we come into school attached to various relationships. Whether it’s your boyfriend, girlfriend or best friends, it’s okay to accept the fact that people grow apart. For most of us it’s hard to let go of the past – trust me, I know. Distance can either strengthen or strain a relationship. We all have been close with someone whom we are no longer in touch with. However, when it comes to a significant other these facts are more challenging to face. If you are sacrificing your own happiness just to maintain a relationship, you may want to stop and think about how you would most likely be much better off without that person.
2. Respect the upperclassmenOur first year of college is exciting. Everyone just wants to meet new people, make friends and have a good time. However, there is a way of going about this. When you hike your way up to the townhouses or hitch a ride to the beach, please keep in mind that people actually live there. Tossing your beer cans in someone’s bushes or smashing a bottle on a person’s front deck is not only disrespectful, it increases your risk of getting written up (or arrested). If an upperclassman asks you to leave their house, be understanding. If you are polite and respectful to them, they will be nice back to you.
3. Have a good relationship with your professorsBuild a solid relationship with your professors and academic advisor – I cannot stress this point enough. Our professors are here to help us and they want to see us succeed. If you fall asleep during class, disregard their office hours and show up when you feel like it, they will have no desire to help you. If you take your schoolwork seriously and are attentive, not only will your professor like you, it will also benefit your grade in their class as well as your future. In a year or so when you start applying for internships, service trips, study abroad, etc., your professors will be more than happy to write recommendations for you if you have built a strong relationship with them.
4. Get involvedAs important as being an active student and getting good grades is, being involved in other activities around campus is also crucial. There are over 80 clubs and organizations on this campus. I promise there is something here for everyone. Between club/intramural sports, FUSA, Social Justice, German Club, Glee, Her Campus and many, many more, you are bound to find something you absolutely love.
5. Enjoy itHave fun. As many times as you have heard it before, these are going to be the fastest four years of your life. Before you know it, you’re going to be graduating and moving on to the real world – it’s a scary place. However if you spend the next four years getting involved, building strong relationships and continuing to do what you love, you’ll be more than ready to take on that next big step we all fear – life after college. You’re going to have good day and great days, bad days and even worse days but you’ll finish on the top. Learn from your mistakes and always move forward. Four years from now, you might not even recognize that scared freshman you used to be. Many of us wish we could go back and relive it all again but now this is your time. Make the best of it.
Photo Courtesy @N_Kwas