Being a college freshman in your first semester is difficult. Adjusting to living in a dorm, having roommates, and leaving your family is a lot to go through at once. Maintaining a positive mindset, staying in touch with people from home, and doing things that you enjoy are all important to help you succeed and enjoy college. If you need motivation this semester or even a little guidance, here’s what we’ve learned from our experience at Temple so far.
1. Journaling at the end of your day
Journaling is a great way to express your thoughts and feelings, especially when you don’t feel like talking to anyone. For some of us, journaling might be useful to sort through thoughts and unwind at the end of a long day. It’s peaceful to sit down and start journaling after coming back to my dorm, getting into bed, turning on a favorite playlist, and writing about life.
2. Finding time to recharge
Constantly being surrounded by other people in college makes alone time hard to come by, and for a lot of people, that alone time is the time to recharge. It can be challenging to find ways to prioritize your alone time because let’s face it: FOMO is totally real. Don’t be afraid to say “No” to a trip with roommates to the grocery store or the SAC to grab some food. Even if you don’t think you need it, it can be good to spend just a little bit of alone time in the week to check in with yourself.
3. Physical activity
Getting out of your dorm, going to the gym, or even just going on a walk are all great ways to maintain a positive mindset. Temple’s campus recreation has plenty of opportunities for students to take advantage of, like their group fitness schedule or intramural sports.
While utilizing the gym has been enjoyable, it’s also a reason to get out of our dorms and have alone time, all while keeping up with our physical health.
There are different ways to occupy your time at the gym, like listening to a favorite workout playlist or watching Netflix while on the treadmill. The gym is like an ideal “me time,” and allows you to jam out to your favorite songs without judgment or watch your favorite shows without bed-rotting all day.
In our opinion, the gym is the perfect place to go if you want to work on your physical health, as well as your mental health.
4. Staying in touch with home
This is a lot of freshmen’s first time away from home, and adjusting to a new place with new people can be really difficult. Of course, there’s also homesickness. You might miss mom or dad’s cooking, an underclassman bestie that you left behind, your car, your bed, literally anything that reminds you of home.
While these things might not be tangible, it isn’t impossible to get a hold of your family and friends. Facetime and texting are essential when it comes to missing those closest to you. People at home are often going to know you a bit better than the people you’ve just met at college, so don’t lose those connections.
5. Do things you enjoy
It is always important to make time for things that you enjoy doing! Try to incorporate time into every day to do something for you. If you enjoy reading, then find time to curl up with a book somewhere quiet and read a few chapters. If you enjoy shopping, then plan a trip to the fashion district to treat yourself.
It’s likely that Temple offers clubs geared towards your hobbies or favorite activities, like an online magazine for women in college. Consider looking into clubs through Owl Connect so that you can do what you enjoy while also being surrounded by people and potential friends.
6. Treat yourself
If you need a sign, this is it: get that coffee, or that top from Urban that you’ve saved in your cart, and place that Sephora order. It’s important that you reward yourself for the hard work you’ve been putting in.
It’s not easy to show up to class every day and turn in every assignment on time, and you deserve a sweet treat that will get you through the week. You deserve to feel good as a reward for turning in that essay.
College isn’t easy, but that doesn’t mean you need to suffer your way through it; it’s important to incorporate small things you look forward to into your daily routines to help you when the semester gets tough.