There’s no doubt that going to college my freshman year was the most transitional time of my life up until that point: living without my parents for the first time, sharing a tiny living space with a stranger, and moving from a small town into downtown Pittsburgh made it a very scary and exciting situation.
Most people seem to express everything they’ve learned in their first year of college because it everything is so different and new. Don’t get me wrong, I learned more life lessons than I can count my freshman year, however, with my sophomore year coming to a close, I’m realizing that I’ve had a great deal of learning moments this year, too:
1. You will not stay friends with all of the people you met freshman year
You will, however, stay close with the ones who matter. All the people you met during your first week of college and frantically friend requested on Facebook will dwindle down to a group that you will remain friends with for the rest of your life.
2. It is a little easier to stay healthy (but only a little)
Without the all-you-can-eat French fries and Lucky Charms from the dining hall, it is definitely less of a task to stay healthy. Cooking for yourself, though, you have to make more of a conscious decision to make healthy choices.
3. It’s okay that you don’t know what you want to do with the rest of your life
College is a time to discover things about yourself, including what career path you want to take. It’s okay to change your major from what you wanted to do your freshman year. It’s okay to take classes that have nothing to do with your major to try and figure out what you like. It’s even okay if you’ve already changed your major and you are having second thoughts about your new one. Everything will eventually fall into place.
4. Going out every night of every weekend definitely isn’t necessary
Yes, going out is still a blast, but I no longer feel like I’m missing something important by not going out every night like I did last year. Sometimes staying in with a few friends can be even more enjoyable than going out.
5. You might even start to enjoy some of your classes
Now that a lot of the core classes are out of the way, you get to pick classes that are more interesting to you, whether they be for your major or for general college electives.
6. You will freak out because you are realizing that you are halfway done with college
But remember how exciting moving on from high school to college was? I think moving on from college to the real world will be a huge transition too, but just as exciting. Don’t freak out because college is halfway over; just make an effort to enjoy every moment of it!