Going into your freshman year of college is something that almost everyone looks forward to. The media portrays college as an endless party where you find all of your best friends. I know that I couldn’t wait to get out of high school and go to college, especially knowing that I was coming to New York City.
When I got to college, however, things were not the way I thought they were going to be. Socially, I struggled a lot. Those first week friends from orientation and the dorms didn’t last, and I really struggled to find a group that I clicked with. Coming from a small high school with very close friends, it was very difficult to imagine that I would ever find a group even remotely close to them. Many people also proved not to be who I thought they were, and I found myself very left out and alone.
Seeing all the pictures of people having a great time going out didn’t help either. I found myself crying many nights, and even getting physically sick. I wanted to go home. I remember being extremely disappointed when I went home for Christmas break after my first semester. Why was college like this? I thought that I would instantly find my home right away, and that everything would be great. I wondered if I had picked the wrong school, and if I was destined to be miserable for the rest of college.
Things eventually did turn around for me. After joining more clubs, including my sorority, I was able to make meaningful friendships with people who I had things in common with. I also learned that I was not the only one who hated their freshman year. A few of my friends here at school and back home expressed to me how lonely they were, and how they wish they knew other people that were in the same boat.
My biggest piece of advice for freshman is to know that you’re not alone; other people are feeling the same way as you. Nobody’s freshman year is perfect. Things take time. It takes time to get to know people and become close with them. But, in time, it will happen. So it’s time we stop ending the freshman myth that life is perfect. Because in reality, life is what you make it, and brings you exactly where you need to be.