College is a life experience you will never forget; there will times when you regret not turning in an assignment, there will be times when you regret that "one more shot" and there will be times you will regret going to college because of the debt... But you will never regret the memories you have made.
Going into my senior year, there are a few things I wish I would have known before I kissed my parents goodbye and was left alone in my dorm room to await the arrival of my roommate. These are just a few of them.
1. Making friends is a lot easier when you're open to making new friends.
You can have new friends and still love your hometown buds. You cannot bottle yourself up in your room with the door shut because you won't have any fun. You'll get a weird nickname from the girls on your floor and you'll have a miserable time. Make friends, ASAP. It's the first thing you need.
2. Always be prepared for the icebreakers.
"My name is Myranda. I'm from Indianapolis. I like collecting mugs." Name. City you're from. An interesting fact. The key three things you will need to know on syllabus day.
3. Syllabus day is the first session of each class where you go over your syllabus with your professor.
It's important to pay attention to the attendance policies, late work policies and their office hours. You think you won't need to know that stuff, but then it's finals week. You've skipped three times and you have strep throat, in which they will not feel sorry for you because you should have known the policies stated in the syllabus.
4. Try to go to at least one party during welcome week.
If it's not your style, that's completely fine and no one will judge you for it. In college, people are all about diversity and it's nice to have some friends that aren't there just to bong beers in the front lawn.. But it's also nice to have something to do in large quantities of people. The experiences of nice drunk girls in bathrooms is something you have to do first hand and loud music can help you forget about the textbooks for a while.
5. Professors are not scary.
They are human encyclopedias and should be used to their full advantages. Professors are smart and harsh, but they're also kind and understanding. They succeed as long as you succeed, and they want to see you both succeed. They're also humans, so they understand car troubles, breakups and hangovers. They were us once, too.
6. Relationships.
Do not rush into them. You're old enough to know the difference between puppy love and being in love. Relationships can get serious in college. And they can make or break you. This is your future, college is about you. I'm not saying don't date or don't fall in love, just make sure you're ready for change when and if it happens. Relationships in college can mess up everything. Classes you take when planned together, friendships formed when you have the same friend group, family relationships destroyed and you have to pick yourself up off the ground while trying to take an exam and it's hard.
7. It's OK to join and sorority or fraternity, and it's totally fine if that's not your thing.
I have so many friends that joined Greek life freshman year, and I have so many friends that did not. I didn't join my freshman year, and I still have a social life. I was still loved by my friends and I still had an amazing time. (side note: I ended up joining a sorority junior year though).
8. Packing doesn't get easier.
You still never know if you'll need the neon dress for a black light event, or if you will need all six pairs of black heels. It never gets easier, so please don't try to tell yourself it will. You will never know what you need and what you don't need.
9. It's OK to take a "you" day.
You get a certain number of classes you're allowed to miss before your grade suffers in college courses. If you are having a hard day, take the day off. Get in your car (if you're allowed those on campus as a freshman), go for a drive, blast the music and get lost for a little while. Read a book and drink your coffee in the corner somewhere and take a break. Life goes on and it flies by. There is nothing wrong with taking a mental health day just for you.
I'm sure there are plenty of things I wish I would have known going into college, but that's part of the fun. You don't know everything and you have to learn it all from experiencing it on your own. These are just a few major things I wish I would have known to avoid some obstacles along the way, but I definitely don't regret the learning process. College is an experience and you just have to do it yourself in order to learn for yourself.
