I never thought this day would come. I sat on the kitchen floor nuzzling my dog, refusing to let go as tears are streaming down my face. Choking back as a say the last goodbyes I slowly make my way out the door. It was my 18thbirthday and also move-in day for college. To say the least, it was the worst birthday ever.
I walked up to eight flights of stairs sweating and shaking as I held boxes of my clothes. I walked down my hallway full of chaos, slowly catching my breath as I count the numbers on the wall trying to find room 893. After what felt like hours of trying to find my room, I had finally found it. As I walked in the door I was immediately struck with joy by my roommate and a rush of heat.
The next few days were full of lots of tears, sweat, and laughs. My first week of college was the hottest week of the year, but it honestly made for a great start. I couldn’t have imagined a better way to become so close and comfortable with my roommate than being stuck in a small and hot dorm room together. We have had so many laughs from screaming and dancing while making Triller videos to making complete fools out of ourselves in front of everyone. Although it was a tough start moving into college on my 18thbirthday, I was so happy everything worked out in the end.
Flash forward nine months. I am now finishing off my freshman year in college. I am sitting in Saxby’s, my favorite study spot on campus writing this article, looking back on such an incredible first year. I have made so many amazing friends and memories that I will cherish forever. I have learned so many lessons along the way:
- Don’t be discouraged from one bad grade – your grades don’t define who you are. It’s okay to fail. In order to succeed you’re going to fail many times, but that only makes you stronger and work harder.
- Enjoy it while it lasts – I have met so many incredible and kind seniors here and they’ve told me to make the most of my time in college because it goes by in a blink of an eye.
- Step out of your comfort zone – Hang out with new people and try to switch things up. Change up your scenery and don’t stick to the same thing. This is something I knew coming into college since I stuck to the same friend group in high school. I knew I wanted to come to a big school so I could broaden my horizons and meet more people since I had gone to such a small private school my entire life.
- And lastly, everything happens for a reason – If something doesn’t go your way don’t worry or stress about it. I know it’s harder said than done, trust me. I am in a sticky situation right now for next year and it’s all I have been thinking about for the past few weeks, but I keep telling myself that everything will work out in the end and there is a reason why this is happening to me.
Overall, my freshman year was full of ups and downs that I could spend hours and hours writing about, but that is not the point of this article. My reason for writing this article is to remind people to know that everyone goes through their own battles in life and there are different ways to maintain them and find a balance.