Six years ago from yesterday, I loaded up my 2005 PT Cruiser with my tie-dye bedspread, my brand new backpack and boxes full of dorm decorations and ramen noodles. I packed that car from the floor to the ceiling and drove off to start my freshman year of college. It was one of those moments when I didn’t know if I was more excited or terrified, but either way it was an unforgettable feeling.

For a lot of people, college is your first taste of freedom. It’s an awkward limbo back and forth between being a teenager and attempting to be an adult. It’s (at least, if not more than) four years of nothing but learning about life on your own, about love and friendship and about a bunch of random crap that you’ll never need to remember after finals week.

Nevertheless, you learn a lot in college, especially during your freshman year. So with that in mind, here is a short list of just a few lessons I learned (the hard way) during my freshman year that I wish someone would have warned me about beforehand. If you’re a freshman or you will be soon, I hope this helps. If you’ve already survived freshman year, I hope this list makes you realize that even if you didn’t learn a ton in CHEM 101, you’ve at least learned something along the way.

1. You will learn to drink coffee, whether you like it or not.

Between the late nights and early mornings, espresso is going to become your new best friend. Unless you nap every single day (see #4), you’re going to become heavily dependent on caffeine to get you through the semester. Just embrace it. Some of your most productive and most memorable times in college will be during the wee hours of the morning when you are extremely sleep-deprived but heavily caffeinated.

2. If you want to get good grades, you actually have to read.

When I was in high school and my teacher said I had reading for homework, that meant I had no homework. Because who actually reads your textbooks in high school, right? So naturally, I applied that habit to my college classes. After failing three biology quizzes in a row, I learned very quickly that if I wanted to do well in my classes, I was going to have to read my textbooks. I know it’s a pain, but it’s better than getting to the end of the semester and realizing you need to make a 134 on your final to pass the class. So happy reading!

3. Don’t buy your books before the first day of class.

I learned this lesson the hard way my first semester and ended up wasting a lot of money on books I didn’t need. Very rarely, if ever, do you need your textbook the first week of class. Even if the professor does require you to have the book, you have time to order it online at a cheaper price. And if at all possible, rent your textbooks. It’s so much cheaper and you don’t have to deal with the hassle of selling your books back and only getting $4.56 for an $80 book.

4. You will need naps way more than you needed them in kindergarten.

It doesn’t matter how crazy your class schedule is, how much homework you have or who you’re meeting up with for dinner. You will find time to take the power nap that you tried so hard to take in history class. Because let’s face it, you’re going to be doing everything but writing that paper that’s due tomorrow, so you might as well add a nap to the day’s agenda.

5. Someone in your dorm will pull the fire alarm at the most inconvenient time ever, so just get ready.

This is a real thing. It will happen when you’re in the shower. It will happen at 4 a.m. It will happen when it’s freezing and/or raining. And it will happen more than once. You can’t prepare for it. You just have to deal with it.

6. It takes effort to keep friends.

Whether they are your friends from high school or your friends from first semester English, you have to make a point to stay in touch and hang out regularly if you want the friendship to continue. For the next four (or six) years, your life is going to revolve around your class schedule. You’re going to have to be willing to do some compromising and schedule rearranging if you want your friendships to stay strong.

7. No matter how good your intentions are, you will end up writing that paper the night before it’s due.

I went to two different universities and have friends from several other schools, and I can honestly say that I could count on one hand the number of people I knew who were not avid procrastinators. You can write it in your planner or on your calendar as many times as you want. But you better just go ahead and start warming up the coffee pot (see No.1) because it’s going to be a long night.

8. When it comes to group projects, don’t trust the people in your group.

This is the most important lesson you will learn in college! It doesn’t matter how great your group seems at the beginning. Someone is going to drop the ball, so make team deadlines. Communicate through email or text so you have everything in writing. Be honest on group evaluations, and don’t be surprised if you have to stay up all night finishing someone else’s part of the project.

9. It’s OK to switch your major.

One of the first questions you will be asked when you meet someone new in college is, “What are you majoring in?” and over the course of the next few years, the answer to that question will most likely change. I started college as a Secondary Spanish Education Major. I graduated with a degree in Communications. Probably 75 percent of the people I know would tell you a similar story. It’s not uncommon to take a class in a subject you’ve never heard of and fall in love with it, and if that makes you want to change your major, that’s OK. You’re not expected to have the rest of your life figured out at 18. It’s fine if you do, but don’t freak out if you don’t.