Well here I am, alive to tell the tale. Despite the ups and the downs, I managed to survive my first year of college. (Surprisingly.)
Before move in day, I had no idea what the next year would bring me. Who would walk into my life, or who would walk out. As I drove down “The Avenue” on that August day, the fear melted away, and I knew I was home. But little did I know how much one campus could teach me. It would teach me little things. Things like how to survive the dining hall, when to catch Blinky, or how to share a room without killing your roomie.
It would teach me that Ramen is good, coffee is better, and your mom is just a phone call away.
But if my first year taught me anything, it would be how precious the people around you are. Saint Mary’s has brought some of the most incredible, genuine people into my life and I have no idea how I went eighteen years without them.
Good thing I didn’t go to my second choice school. Phew. Close call.
There will be good people and bad people, the professor who is out to ruin your life, and the professor who inspires you to lead a better life. There will be guys who suck, but girl friends by your side, waiting with chocolate.
They say freshman year is a time for self-discovery, and honestly, from every person, I have learned something from. It really is simple… move on from the ones that bring you down and hold on tight to the ones that lift you higher. And at the end of the day, thank God for them both.
I look back to myself at freshman orientation, terrified of what the future would bring. As the year comes to an end, I have all the confidence in the world that the next three years will fall into place just as this one has.
Sophomore year, I’m ready for you. Ready to appreciate every laugh, tear, and moment. Because as I’m starting to realize, they were right when they said this will all fly by.
Photos provided by the author