I think that college is intimidating whether you are a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior. I know that I am a junior and there are still so many days when I wake up or I go to bed thinking, “what am I doing?” I remember one of the most anxious weekends of my life was move-in weekend. The thought of leaving your home, going to a new place, meeting new people, living with new people, and having a whole new schooling experience is terrifying. Unfortunately, I let a lot of my anxiety and fear hold me back from several things my freshman year, and the year flew by, leaving me with a lot of regrets. Fortunately for anyone reading this, I am going to give some advice that will (hopefully) help you have a once-in-a-lifetime freshman year.
Freshman year is a really important year because it builds the foundation for your college experience.Obviously if something happens and things happen unlike you’d wished, it is NOT the end of the world, but still, these tips should help. First, I want to state the most basic and obvious rule of thumb; do not let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. P.S. If you have not watched A Cinderella Story, that must be done immediately after reading this article! Anyway, that cliche phrase truly has an important meaning. I was very shy my freshman year and I was terrified to join clubs, try new things, and meet new people. I was scared that people would not like me and that I would fail at new things and that if I over committed myself by joining clubs, my personal life and grades would suffer. Looking back, I realized that I could have built so many more friendships and that I could have found the club I LOVE (Her Campus) even sooner. Being scared of doing things kept me from finding things I enjoyed and that is why I say you have to push yourself, you have to try, and you should not be afraid to mess up. Messing up is sort of the theme of my next QTLB (quote to live by). Pushing yourself to do things builds strength and confidence in yourself which are amazing traits. With that, sometimes we push ourselves to do things that we are not always ready for so things may be a little bit messy for a bit, which is also fine. There is so much to learn through mistakes and there is so much growth that happens as a result. Think about it this way, the bigger the mess, the longer it takes to pick up, but the bigger the difference it makes in the end. I say if you find yourself contemplating introducing yourself, do it. If you find yourself not joining a club because you are scared you won’t know anyone, do it. If you find yourself sitting in your bed during your only free time, go to the dinning hall and introduce yourself to someone, knock on your neighbor’s door, go to the library, message someone from your class, and do anything else you can think of that will put yourself out there. I always over-thought these situations. I found myself thinking things like “what if they think I’m weird” or “what if they tell all of their friends and I get embarrassed” and I realize now that I was thinking about it all wrong. There is nothing wrong with friendly gestures or showing kindness. There is also nothing wrong with meeting someone once, then never seeing them again. Once you have tried something and put yourself out there, there is nothing wrong with deciding it may or may not be right for you, either way give yourself a pat on the back and move on, think, “a lesson learned”.
Regardless of what happens, I think it is easier to say you know you tried than to be left with questions and doubt. For instance, it is better to recognize that a certain club or class is not for you than to still be unsure because you didn’t try. At least when you know what you don’t like, you can narrow down on things you do like and get a better idea of things you might like. With that being said, it is important to not dwell on the past. Bad classes happen, bad friendships happen, drunken nights happen, and so will several other things we will want to take back, but owning it and learning from them is the best we can do. Hopefully after reading this, you will keep it in mind and have the greatest year possible!