10 Things I learned my first semester freshman year of college

1.Dorms aren’t too terribly bad

They’re really not. The dorm life is quite convenient. While I wouldn’t want to live in the dorm another year, I’ve enjoyed being close to my classes and every other event on campus. It can be loud, but it is a great place to meet people (especially when you’re locked out) & see familiar faces.

2.You’ll miss home, but you’ll get used to missing it, so it eases up

My life has done a total flip upside down this first semester of college. People who I thought would be my life-long friends drifted apart, and I felt really lonely which made me miss home more. However, I’ve gotten used to missing home, and focused more on my life on campus so it does get better. I promise.

3.You’re not missing out if you don’t go out every weekend

Parties are the same thing over and over and over again. There is literally no point in going out and wasting your time every weekend. So spend time with people you care about, or invest in yourself.

4.Invest in a eye mask if you have trouble sleeping with lights on

If you’re like me, it must be pitch black before you can sleep. I invested in a sleeping mask for when my roomie needs to study at night. It works really well, & you can get them really cheap (even free sometimes).

5.The freshman 15 is easily beatable

Don’t be worried of the freshman 15. If you don’t go out and drink every weekend, you have no need to stress. The dining hall food isn’t that great & you’ll probably be too poor for anything else so no worries. Don’t eat more than 1 plate at your meals & don’t drink your calories either!!J

6.What you thought was so important in high school becomes essentially meaningless

Personally, I thought my high school friends were 100% my life and a lot of my confidence lied in the fact that I had so many friends. Well when you go to college, you learn really fast that no one cares about who you were friends with, what you did on the weekend, what the community thought of you, if you were a teachers fav, etc. NO ONE CARES and it’s great because this forces you to figure out who you really WANT to be friends with and who you really click with.

7.Get used to not having your alone time

You never really have alone time in a dorm. People are always wanting to hang out, your roommate might always be there. If you want alone time you’re probably going to have to go home or to a local coffee shop.

8.Don’t get a dining plan with more than 14 meals a week

Seriously, unless you straight up eat breakfast lunch and dinner everyday, you won’t need more than 14 meals a week and you could definitely get by with just 10. I currently have 18 meals a week and I maybe get through 7. That’s a lot of extra money going down the drain.

9. Nobody really has time for anyone else around here

It’s really hard to make time for everyone. Don’t be upset when your bff can’t hang because she has to study or your big can’t because she has to work. Be okay with being alone. It’s part of growing.

10. Make sure you tell your roommate if you have a test in the morning or set 10 alarms

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is not to expect to stay up till 3:30-4:00 a.m. and then wake up to your alarm at 8:00 because it’s just not going to work. Let your roommate know that you have a test in the morning and tell her to get your butt up and out of bed. The scariest thing on Halloween for me was sleeping through the first half of my test that I stayed up all night the night before studying for….

p.s. or just don’t procrastinate.