When I said goodbye to my family this summer, there weren’t any tears. When my dad helped me move into my new apartment, it wasn’t a six hour event. Something finally hit me when I watched incoming freshman into their new homes — now that I’m a sophomore in college, I’m no longer the “important one”. Before jumping to the conclusion that I’m just being self-centered, hear me out.
Just one year ago, myself and many of my peers were being showered with college-related attention. I personally spent all of last summer preparing for the big move: looking up dorm room ideas on Pinterest, reading hundreds of articles on how to manage a college workload and social life, and even watching people describing their personal college experience on YouTube. When I arrived to college, I remember having this preconceived notion that I had to be friends with everyone on my floor so I went out of my way to get to know everyone. The day before school started, I walked my entire schedule at least three times, and calculated how long I would have to eat and do homework during breaks. Finally, I remember the entire first week of school I would plan what outfit I was going to wear the night before.
This summer, I spent pretty much all my time working. College is expensive, and I found out the hard way freshman year when I swiped my debit card freely without a care in the world. I didn’t really prepare a “room theme” for my apartment; instead I was more worried about the fact that I wouldn’t be able to rely on a meal plan for the year. I didn’t do a walkthrough of my schedule, and I definitely didn’t plan my outfit the night before. The night before the first day of school, I told my mom that I have never been this unprepared for school to start!
But, I actually was more prepared than I was my freshman year. This year, I feel like I am part of something. I say hi to my friends as I walk to classes and I know when I can afford to take a quick nap before class. I no longer feel like I have to be friends with everyone I meet, and that’s okay. Instead, I am more focused on myself and my own career which is exciting!
I didn’t write this article to discourage any freshman from doing the exact same thing that I did my first year of school — I actually encourage any freshman that reads this to go out of there way like I did to try to make as many friends as possible, stay on top of their workload all the time, and have the best freshman year possible. I do, however, leave you with this. Everyone says cherish your freshman year, and I definitely realize that now. Make sure it’s the best year yet!
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