I remember my freshman move in day like it was yesterday, although it's coming up on 2 years ago. I remember packing my car air tight, labeling every box and bag with a piece of tape that read 'Parker 11B', and arriving on campus to the sound of the school pep band playing fight songs. It felt like paradise, the absolute perfect place to be spending 4 years of education. I was on top of the world, unstoppable, and ready to take on the adventure.
Nice try, recently graduated me with a cheesy haircut, nice try.
It takes some time to settle into life in school and I often felt I was flailing, unable to understand much of this adult world because I was learning it while I went along. So I have asked my friends and classmates to pitch in their person favorite tips of advice for future freshmen, to help make that transition as smooth as cafeteria frozen yogurt (which yes, you will get addicted to). Class of 2020, this is for you.
1. Open door policy
We spend a lot of our first months of college trying to find our 'group', which often occurs by organizing selective hangouts with the same people. We think we're just getting 'really close' with 'our people', but often the people you'll end up loving the most are on the other side of the door! Keep the door OPEN! Allow new and unexpected people into your life, they could be the best thing to ever happen to you. There's no need to hide from socialization, even if you feel awkward by trying to be welcoming to the world, you may find some of the best people by doing so!
2. Personal ID
A little tip, and one you might not think about, but bring multiple forms of identification to college with you and then hide them away somewhere safe. Often if you're applying for a work study position, you need multiple forms of ID to fill out tax forms. So bring your license and then your birth certificate, or your passport. Also, before you go to school learn your social security number by heart. I hadn't memorized mine until recently and had a lot of embarrassing experiences at doctors offices, jobs, and banks, where I looked like an idiot who didn't know her social!
3. Don't FEAR the freshmen 15
Everyone is familiar with the term, the fear of coming home from school for Thanksgiving and looking like you already ate 4 pumpkin pies on arrival. The freshmen 15 is of course, avoidable, if you just use self control in the dining hall, but more importantly, don't stress yourself out so much about gaining weight that you avoid fun freshmen experiences to stay thin! Sometimes it's GOOD to order Chinese at midnight when you and you're binging Law and Order SVU with friends! Yes, mozzarella sticks at 2 am after a night cramming IS good for you! Just stay open minded to food and the experiences that come with that fateful freshman weight gain and you'll be naturally more emotionally healthy.
4. GO TO CLASS.
This SEEMS self explanatory, but it's exactly that: it's so easy to just choose to go to class. Yes you now have all this freedom to do what you want! But choosing to skip class is the most guaranteed route to failure, with regards to your grades and your impression on your professors.
5. Beware early hookups
A friend of mine testifies from his personal experience, he wishes he hadn't hooked up with anyone in the first three months. Those early-in-the-year freshmen hookups are often miscalculated and can end up being mistakes. It's one thing if it's a hookup at a huge party with a stranger you KNOW you'll never see again. But if it's someone you know of, someone in your major, someone who may turn up again later in your college experience as a T.A., a director, a partner...the first 3 months you really can't judge character well enough yet, you don't have perspective. A lot of times these hookups can feel like mistakes months later, and that awkwardness doesn't easily go away.
6. Think about a spending limit
It's easy to forget how much money your spending when you're living the early college life of impulse buys. If you're not working at school WARNING: money inevitably WILL run out if you don't stop spending. SURPRISE: that's just math. Maybe give yourself a spending limit per week, to keep yourself in check. You'll be surprised how much you save.
7. You can do anything! But you can't do everything.
This is a big one. Take it from an over committer. Say yes to life and opportunities, sure! But investigate first what these 'opportunities' are worth. Are they really going to make you happy? Is this club that sounds a little fishy really going to look good on a resumé? Can you see yourself getting along with the people involved? Because you'll want to try everything, but challenge yourself to be more selective, you owe it to you to only be doing things you really care about.
8. PRINTING
If you have on campus printing (like we have at my school) know that it won't always be dependable. I have learned from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: Print your papers/finished assignments the night BEFORE they are due. By some twist of fate the printers will all stop working in the 5 minutes before your class. And if you know you'll be up all night writing that paper, and don't have the time to rely on school printers at all, maybe think about bringing your own!
9. Know your booze kids.
This quote is inspired by a good friend of mine's trademark bit of advice: "Don't take Vodka shots and chase them with four loko at your first freshman party". If you feel like this is a rookie mistake, for a first time drinker, it actually wasn't! Parties are just different in college, there's a lot more options, a lot more people who can legally get alcohol, just a lot more at stake. EAT CARBS if you're going to a party at night, drink water, don't make the goal to get 'as drunk as possible'. Trust me, it's not worth the aftermath.
10. Time for yourself
A friend of mine gave me the quote, "Allow yourself 45 minutes a day for at least 3 days a week to just take time for yourself. No work, nothing for anybody else, just you". As simple as it sounds, time for you and your needs can be absolutely EVERYTHING when college gets super overwhelming and crazy. Some people like to sit and journal, others go for a jog, some sing for some and some make brownies. You owe it to yourself to take this time, especially when you start biting off more than you can chew. Remember, at the end of the day it is YOUR education, you owe it to yourself to give yourself time for YOU.
