Freshman year is all about change, evolution, and learning very quickly. It’s not always easy to adjust to change, so in order to help all the fresh faces at UW-Madison, here’s a short list of things I didn’t expect to learn and how to deal with the newfound information.
You Will Take a Walk of Shame
In my humble opinion, we, as a collective group of young collegiates, should consider re-naming the forever-hilarious “Walk of Shame”. I honestly believe everyone will take this journey; however, I don’t necessarily believe that it is right to attach humiliation or dishonor to something that could very well be innocent.
Innocent? When is a march back home after a troublesome night ever innocent? Well, I took a Walk of Shame once…from my best friends dorm room. She and I couldn’t quite make it out of the room once it hit 2:30 and I passed out there.
Innocent, right? Well, sure, internally I knew I didn’t do anything remotely immoral, but I had to walk two blocks to my dorm in heels and a fitted outfit. I was honked at and cat-called and we didn’t even share her bed.
Now, it’s not unlikely that you will take a legitimate Walk (no judgments here) and the only advice I can give you is to just work it. Seriously, the more pride you have in yourself, the less likely people are going to assume you did anything treacherous in the first place. The long and short of it is, turn your Walk of Shame into a personal catwalk and own your stained dress and greasy up-do like you’ve got nothing to lose, because in reality, it’s only your ego that’s at stake.
You Will Learn to Poop at Public Places
Throughout puberty, we hear endless “ew”’s regarding our intestinal functions. Women’s pooping has become a myth among young men and girls are expected to hold it in until we turn forty.
Right.
Ladies, it’s time we’ve come to terms with the truth.
Pooping in itself is considered disgusting, a taboo for girls. But, pooping in a public restroom…. this event has become unmentionable and shudder-worthy to many girls.
However, college changes things. For one, the dorm bathrooms are public bathrooms. I remember the first two weeks of school; all of the girls on my floor were constipated. In reality, it was absolutely hilarious. There we all were, stubbornly crouched over with side pains at the sinks trying to brush our teeth.
Ladies, we’re all human. It is a part of our bodily processes and fairly necessary to instinctual survival. Accepting this fact and getting over the fear of humiliation is necessary in order to, well…do your business.
If you cringe at this harsh and fairly crude reality, just know that this is something you will learn quickly, regardless of your inclinations. Once you’ve had Chipotle for 3 days in a row, you’ll get over the phobia. Trust me.
You Don’t Have to Hang Out with Your High School Friends
If a significant percentage of your high school graduating class is going to the UW and among that group are a handful of old friends, don’t feel pressured to spend every waking moment of your freshman year with them.
Freshman year is totally intimidating at first, and it makes complete sense to want to have close friends by you during this time of change and some of those friends may expect you to be by their sides through it all.
Everyone appreciates the comfort of familiarity, but don’t think you can’t break away from your high school click in college just because one of your old crewmembers lives a block away.
Make new friends! Talk to the neighbor down the hall and make conversations with the girl with nice shoes in your psych lecture. If you’re afraid that someone will blow you off, remember this, you’re all in the same shoes. Everyone is new and everyone is in unfamiliar territory.
Surprise yourself and be willing to break out of your high school shell. You may make life-long friends.
Roofies are Real
Okay, so we all know that we don’t take drinks from strangers and are never to leave our open drinks alone. But, how seriously do we take these mantras?
If you think that getting drugged in college is just a myth, than you are dangerously wrong. The parties at the UW can get hectic and it’s easy to lose control or forget to stay conscious of where your cup lands.
Keeping your own cup safe isn’t the only thing you should be conscious of.
It sounds absolutely terrifying, but it is a very real possibility that a predator can spike an entire bottle of alcohol.
A stranger just wants to top off your cup? How about pour some shots for you and your friends, but seems oddly selective in who he shares with and maybe makes the hair on your arms stand up?
The point here is to follow your gut. There are more instances than not that the guy is just trying to get a phone number, not force you in the back of his van. However, it is always important to have trustworthy people around you and especially necessary to have a defensive attitude.
Have fun, but always make wise decisions to be safe.
You Are Welcomed More than Harassed
Freshman hazing has been portrayed through movies and TV shows for as long as I can remember, and when I first started meeting new people, I always hesitated at the question “So, what year are you?”
I feared being blown off, laughed at, or pushed aside (metaphorically) for my ignorance to the college scene.
In fact, I’ve only experienced warmth and welcome here at Madison. Sure, there has been the boisterous chanting of “FRESHMAN” here and there, but no one has been outright mean or cruel simply because it was my first year.
Don’t freak if you are surrounded with older kids at a party or even in a class. We’ve all been there, and, frankly, a large majority (myself and many of my friends included) of the student body wants freshman to have a fantastic experience and make the University of Madison the best place you could possibly want to be at.
Take pride in being a Badger and stop worrying about being a youngster, because, in most cases, no one is concerned with the date of your graduation.