It’s another year, which means we have the opportunity to start fresh, to learn from our past mistakes, and to make new ones. Yet, the knowledge we gain from the passing of another year gives us the opportunity to reach our goals that the previous years have set us up for. I know I have many goals for this year. Because, as uncomfortable as it is to admit, I’m growing up. I’ve watched my friends graduate, apply for jobs and grad schools, settle down, and even have kids. Unfortunate or not…we are right behind them. So here is some advice for my fellow collegiettesTM.
Freshmen– Lucky you. This year will undoubtedly be the most memorable year of college. You will meet amazing friends, flirt with older boys, and strut you stuff down Russell Boulevard as you party hop from frat house to frat house. The world’s a stage you were born to perform on, so take advantage of the attention that so many people in Davis are giving to you.
Fraternity parties will probably be a go-to for any dull Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (and maybe even the occasional Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday if you’re up to it) nights. So dance the night away, get your drunchies fix at Burgers and Brew, and walk back down Russell towards those beautifully remodeled dorms (we’d be lying if we said we weren’t green with envy), reminiscing about the night, the cute guy on your floor, the creepy guy that kept trying to dance with you, or that dreamy older guy that stole you away, the new friends, and the music. Then after your stroll home, stumble up the stairs, crawl into your bed, and dream of that delicious DC breakfast you get to look forward to in the morning. Enjoy the DC, because next year you will miss it. Don’t fret the freshmen 15, just get an ARC pass with your new buds and, thanks to those spin classes, it’ll be off in no time. But don’t forget to study hard between all of the social opportunities freshman year has to offer, so you don’t have to overcompensate for your GPA later on.
Basically: work hard, play harder.Take advantage of your dorm building because you will never live with such an eclectic group of people for the rest of your college career. If you don’t click with your floor, make an effort to bond with another floor in your building. Be sure to make friends that can assist you in the whole growing experience of college; friends who will motivate you to go beyond your limits academically and socially but, most importantly, friends that will help you find yourself.
Sophomores– So, you’ve been here long enough to make friends and settle down, however you still have so much more to explore. You’ve made your life changing friends, so start bonding and be the one doing the life changing. Chances are, you are living with the girls you met freshmen year. It might be difficult at first to actually live with your best friends, but trust me, it’s a remarkable experience full of laughter and, by the end of the year, you will grow in mutual respect for each other. The social scene can be a mix of frat parties and house parties, and you’ll find yourself associating with both the freshmen, and juniors. Enjoy yourself. This is the year when you actually learn how to party, or at least familiar with what party scene you’re in to. Pregaming becomes an art: figuring out the right time, place, and, most importantly, the right guests; The OG guests will obviously consist of the girls you get ready with, take shots to lifelong friendships with, and drunkenly stumble home to make easy mac with. Your experiences as a whole slowly but surely gain maturity, and you may not notice these changes until the end of the year, but what you learn this year will help make you into that wonderful woman you were born to be.
Juniors– Junior year is the time to settle. You have probably made goals for your college career and this is the time to crack down on them. Whether you hope to go abroad, apply for internships, get a job, excel in your upper division classes, or just take life a little more seriously. Junior year will be the year where you really establish who you are, discover what you like and dislike, and what extracurriculars you want to immerse yourself in, but perhaps more importantly, this is the time that we, as adolescents, have all been waiting for… the 21st birthday!!! Finally being able to show your true identification to a big, intimidating bouncer while he moves aside to make way for you to enter (drum roll, please) the bars. The possibilities in this drunken sanctuary are endless. Have fun!
Seniors– Can you believe it? Don’t drown in a wave of nostalgia just yet, but be sure to take advantage of your last few months as a college student, it’s time to enjoy it. Go to all the restaurants you have never been to, try a different shot each night at the bars, build relationships with your favorite professors, and appreciate the reality of living in the same city as all you best friends, because once you’re given that diploma, those college antics have come to past yet there is so much to look forward to. So finish strong in preparation for the next step. You made friends with complete strangers in the dorms, so you can definitely take that social aspect further with interviews and future jobs, studying for four years at one of the top public universities in the nation will prepare you for any graduate education you seek, and the memories you made here will stick with you forever. Take everything you have learned from freshman year to this moment, and roll with it. The future will be beautiful because, well, weren’t the past four years more than you could have ever imagined?
Let this be a road map for your future, but don’t be afraid to take those bends and turns that will get you to your final destination, a fabulous life awaiting you.