The first semester at Florida State teaches us so much. We learn something new everyday in our journey to adulthood. Looking back, it taught us some valuable life lessons.
Courtesy: Atlanta Magazine
1. How to coexist with someone else
One of the most difficult lessons to be learned when moving to college is living in with someone else. Whether or not your roommate is random or you knew them from high school, learning to live with someone who isn’t a family member is hard. You have to learn that you can’t take up the entire refrigerator or that leaving your shoes in the middle of the room and your laundry in a heap is a big no, but perhaps one of the most important lessons is how to sneak back into the room after a night out while your roommate is sleeping. Tripping over the shoes you left on the ground and trying to find a t-shirt and shorts to sleep in becomes a challenge.
2. Game days are the best days
The Saturday mornings of home game days are some of the best times we had all semester. Getting ready with our friends, tailgating and watching the game are memories we will never forget. As we watched the fireworks from inside Doak and learned the fight song, the cheer and of course the chop, we started to feel like actual Noles. Cheering on our team through many wins (especially against UF) was when we finally figured out that college wouldn’t be the same without a great football team.
Courtesy: Seminoles.com
3. Being “healthy” is actually necessary
The days of being high school athletes are long gone. So are mom’s home-cooked meals. Throughout our first semester we learn that going to the Leach is actually something we have to do and that we should probably start eating salad instead of cheeseburgers. Our health and diet is no longer looked out for by anyone else but ourselves and, as many of us have learned our first semester, the “freshman 15” is a real thing. (Big thank you to Suwannee and Fresh and the fast food we ate instead.)
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4. Studying is actually a part of college, no matter what the movies say
Yes, college is a time to experience new things and to not have your parents telling you not to go out on a school night or to be home by a certain time, but it is also where we set ourselves up for the future. Getting the degree that we are all actually here for is vital for our futures and messing that up because of partying too much isn’t going to get you anywhere. The first semester taught us the importance of visiting Club Stroz and utilizing all of the tools that FSU gives us to succeed academically.
Courtesy: Buzzfeed
5. We actually miss our parents
College is the place where we actually become semi-adults (because lets face it, we aren’t ready to call ourselves actual adults). Yet we still need our moms every once in a while, and even our dads too. The first semester is an adjustment period and, even though being away from our parents is exciting, we also realize that we miss those after school conversations about how our day was.
6. Some relationships change
Your “squad” from home made all kinds of promises before you left to stay in touch and to FaceTime weekly. It worked for a while, but then life got busy and that group of friends you still talk to regularly gets smaller and smaller. The first semester is a time of change for everyone and the people from home that you are still close with at the end of the first semester are the ones that you should focus on. Sure you will have those friends that you can reconnect with when you go home, but the friends that you make an effort to stay connected with are there for you no matter what. They know you and know little about your college life, making them great for venting. Learning how to keep in contact with the few true best friends from home is one of the most important lessons of the first semester and plus showing them around Tallahassee is always a great time.
Taking on the first semester at FSU is challenging, exhilarating and an absolute blast. Sometimes it can get overwhelming, but hey, that’s how we learn, right?