6th grade – bottom of the food chain. Sucks. Freshman in high school – bottom of the food chain. Sucks. Freshman in college – bottom of the food chain. Highkey amazing. When I tell you everyone is jealous of the freshman, it’s actually true. It’s only the beginning of the best four years of your life. GET EXCITED.
You don’t have to stress about internships or career fairs, having the perfect resume or finding a husband. You get to just…be. And in my opinion, that’s pretty freaking awesome. Don’t wait until your junior or senior year to realize how significant your first year of college is. Just trust me and know that it is. The late night talks with people in your dorm, experiencing the bar scene for the first time, meeting A BILLION new people and potential bride maids… all that. It’s so special.
I went into my freshman year of college thinking, none of the new friends I make here will even compare to my friends back home. They won’t have grown up with me, be super close with my family, know all of the boys I’ve ever liked…they’ll just be fun people to hang out with and that’s it. Yeah, safe to say, I could not have been more wrong. The way you mature as a person these next four years are just as important as the ways you grew in high school or middle school (if not more). I’m not sure how or when, but somewhere between freshman and sophomore year my college friends became an essential part of who I am. I wouldn’t be as confident in myself without Izzie. I wouldn’t be as self-aware and understanding without Kristin. I wouldn’t be as kind-hearted and compassionate without Abby. I wouldn’t be as excited about life without Carly. I can’t imagine my life without them because I wouldn’t be me without them. I met people that changed my life and so will you. You just don’t know it yet.
Yes, you are at the bottom of the food chain, but there is something that instantly bonds all first year college students together – know one knows what the hell they’re doing. It might seem like they do, but trust me, they don’t. It’s SO easy to make friends in your classes because you are all experiencing these first times together. For example, my very first college class was calculus (which in and of itself is pretty scary), but right as I sat down, the girl next to me leaned over and said, “Is this your first class too? I’m kinda scared.” I laughed and said yes, then the girl behind me chimed in too. We made a calculus group chat right away, and we used that group chat all semester long, and let me tell ya…it saved me SO many times. As you get a little older, it becomes harder to initiate conversations in class with people you don’t know because some people actually do know what they’re doing.
Take advantage of your freshman status. Know that you’re lucky, even if it doesn’t always feel like it. For once in your life, the bottom of the food chain is where you want to be. Enjoy it :)