As I, a student in the class of 2019, draw closer to my last month of being a freshman, I can only reflect on how terrified I was of college before August. I had only recently gotten my license, had no clue how to use a debit card, and couldn't wake up for school unless my mom came upstairs and rolled me out of bed. Subsequently, my panic about being a college freshman on my own and having to navigate the adult world on my own crescendoed.
But I, like all my fellow classmates and newly-found friends, pulled through triumphantly. And along the way, here are five things that I learned after eight months of being a college freshman.
1. It's okay to move on
For the first several months of being at college, a lot of high school friends and I attempted to maintain contact, giving each other frequent updates of our lives. It felt like we did it by default, because we were all so used to talking every day in high school and updating each other about our lives. By the time October rolled around, the texts grew fewer and fewer until all that was left was the occasional view of the other's snapchat story. But the thing is: that's okay. College is a time of great transition where you begin to meet people you will be friends with for the rest of your life. Your high school friends may be close and always by your side, but don't let maintaining past relationships hold you back from creating new best friends at college!
2. Grow, whether it's conscious or not
Before going to college, I was terrified of doing things on my own. From using a debit card to asking a waiter to make my burger without pickles, I was horrified of speaking out. Inevitably, college teaches you to seek out opportunities and speak up when you need to. The improvement I've seen in my own confidence from September to now is astronomical, and many college freshmen have probably noticed the same. The irony is that my confidence in myself grows every time I encounter a hard time at school. The tough moments where I am faced with making decisions and managing my time meticulously are the instances that help me gain experience in doing things on my own, and it's one step closer to gaining more confidence.
3. Studying takes time, but it's worth it
In high school, I never touched my textbooks. I bought one pack of notecards to last me all four years. The end-of-year tests were rather a test of my courage, because I never reviewed much for them. The SAT and ACT were sort of a joke to me, assessments that I took with minimal studying to see how well I could score on them with knowledge I had off the top of my head. Something about switching to the college setting and knowing that tests and quizzes are reliant on reading textbooks triggered a completely new necessity for me to do as well as I could. Even though I didn't study for a total of five hours during my senior year of high school, I have now embraced the lifestyle of staying up until three A.M. for cramming. And although I could work on not procrastinating, nothing was more rewarding than getting a 4.0 GPA last semester because I decided to finally put an effort in.
4. Savor time with your family
The summer before college, I was beyond ready to get out of my house. I was ready to embrace the lifestyle of never being told when to clean my room, when to go to bed, or boss me aroudn the house. And for the most part college has been pretty liberating. I find that being bossed around at home has tailored my tendendy to clean at least once a week and choose a balanced meal in the dining hall, but every time I go home and see my mom smile when I walk in the door is something that I'm learning to savor. Despite how much I enjoy dictating my own life, sometimes I do miss the back scratches from my mom and my dad and I running errands together. Now, every single day that I get to spend at home with my pets and family is precious to me, and not just because I get homecooked meals and I can shamelessly sleep in.
5. Don't be afraid to keep singing in the shower
Above everything else, don't let the studying and major life shift of going to college deprive you of all the things that you loved to do beforehand. If you don't find the people you click with, people you share interests with, search harder. Don't ever settle. College is an investment that will help build your character in order for you to face the rest of your life, and never take the simple things you enjoy for granted in fear of not fitting in or others judging you, like singing in the shower. As long as you're not jamming out during quiet hours, you do you!
