There are tons of things you expect to learn during your freshman year of college: how to do your own laundry, manage a communal bathroom, and make new friends while adjusting to schoolwork, to name a few. While all of this is true, what makes a freshman year so special are the countless experiences, adventures, and misadventures you could have never foreseen. Here are 34 things I never expected to learn during my first year in Charm City.
1. How to climb onto a half-lofted bed.
2. How to sleep in a dorm without air conditioning in 90-degree weather for over a month (fans, lots of them).
3. How to clean shoes after wearing them in frat basements.
4. How to print from the library printer and still make it to class on time.
5. How to join an acapella cult.
6. How to sneak pizza into the library.
7. How to write, cast, direct, memorize and perform a sketch comedy show in 24 hours.
8. How to take notes on a laptop in class (without checking all forms of social media at least three times).
9. How to make a beautiful omelet (and flip it!).
10. How to lose your voice.
11. How to regain your voice (lots of tea, talking less, singing less).
12. How to draw flowers on chalkboards.
13. How to memorize the names, architects, dates, materials, and locations of over 65 structures (and have it turn out surprisingly OK).
14. How to find a Big (and a Pham).
15. How to recite the lyrics to "Gold Digger" by Kanye West.
16. How to hold a butterfly.
17. How to cross a street that hasn't been plowed yet.
18. How to write and perform standup comedy.
19. How to find (and use) GIFs for every occasion.
20. How to wrap a sari (at 4:30 a.m.).
21. How to set three alarms to wake up for class registration.
22. How to find every gluten-free cafe in Baltimore.
23. How to play Super Smash Bros (but only as Little Mac).
24. How to meditate in the reading room.
25. How to fit over 20 cookies into a to-go box from the cafeteria to bring on Mental Notes tour.
26. How to negotiate the housing lottery.
27. How to attend/have formals the weekend before reading period.
28. How to chat with professors on a boat.
29. How to carry a plastic flamingo under your sweatshirt in the pouring rain.
30. How to write a paper while listening only to the new Drake album.
31. How to say goodbye to friends who are seniors (pretend they aren't leaving).
32. How to say goodbye to your friends whom you won't see until the fall.
33. How to pack the room you lived in all year into one car.
34. How (despite classes and stress) to be excited to have a whole new experience next year as a sophomore.
Thanks for a great year, Johns Hopkins. See you in the Fall!
(Bench reads: Baltimore, The Greatest City in America)
*All the pictures were taken by Rachel Underweiser and friends*
