After finishing my first semester, I think I came out learning a lot of things about the real world, myself, and how to get through college. Coming from a tiny town, getting to a huge school was a bit of a shock. More of a shock, though, was the toll that college was going to take on me. I didn't realize how exhausting and mentally draining the combination of more school work and anxiety about social life in college was. After talking to my friends from high school, I realize that this isn't just a me thing. It's normal to feel like this in college.
My class in high school was 180 students, which was the biggest grade my town has ever seen. We all gathered together for football games and other school-wide events. Everyone knew everyone and all of their business. As awful this sounds, when I got to college, a part of me missed the comfort that this small town brought me and here's why.
Getting to college was the biggest change I have ever experienced in my life, which is normal. A whole new group of people, a new routine, and an entirely new place. The first-month anxiety is normal for all freshman, I think. Figuring out who your friends are while adjusting to the idea of being away from home for so long.
After the first month, this constant feeling of anxiety calmed down but certainly did not go away. The first thing I learned from my first semester was that this feeling may not ever go away, but that's ok. There is a hard balance to find in college; everyone needs their alone time to stay sane, but also that feeling of having FOMO if you're alone for too long. This can make your "alone time" less relaxing. This is normal! Most people won't say these things out loud, but it's nice for people to know they are not alone.
Another thing I learned is that being excited to go home is not a sign of being "stuck in high school". It is okay to want to return to the familiarity of your family, home and feeling okay with being alone. Everyone is even a little excited to get back home for Thanksgiving, even if they don't make it seem like it.
The biggest thing I learned from my first semester, is to appreciate every second of it. Although this sounds cheesy, the first semester goes by so quickly, and these things will never happen again. Yes, you will have more game days and Christmas themed parties, but they will no longer be your "firsts". You should even appreciate the times where you feel uncomfortable and anxious because hopefully you can look back in a few years and remember how "cringe" your first semester was, but how far you have come since then.
When you go home for Christmas break after the first semester, you will be one-eighth through your college career, the best 4 years of your life. Thinking of it this way can put it in perspective, that you really have to soak up every moment of every semester. Especially your first semester, though, because all of your firsts will never come again.
