When I look back at my freshman year of college, I do not look back at it fondly. In fact, I can say, wholeheartedly, without a shadow of a doubt, my freshman year was the worst year of my life.
As a senior in high school, I thought college was going to be like senior year, only a million times better and four years longer. I had applied Early Decision to school and instead of having to wait until April for answers like the rest of my plebeian friends, I got my answer in December. Accepted! I was overwhelmed with relief when I read my acceptance letter. I thought my future was set. I coasted through the rest of senior year, with the convinced and naive mentality of "this is what college will be like."
I have never felt such a shocking wake up call in my life.
By my second semester of college, I had thoroughly loathed my major, I had failed a class (which I had previously taken in high school and received an A in, mind you), I had lost my scholarship, gained 20 pounds, and most of all, I had hated who I had become. I was an anxious mess. In high school, I was the complete opposite. I was an overachieving, kind of sporty, enthusiastic, "likes school" kind of gal. During my freshman year, however, I had fallen asleep in all of my classes (on multiple occasions), had not gotten to know any of my professors, no matter how interesting they seemed, and overall, I just absolutely despised college. I was mentally drained from how disappointing my life had become. In fact, I was convinced that college wasn't for me and I felt that I was destined to drop out. What in the world would I have done after I dropped out? Who knows. But I felt that anything in the world would have been better than my current reality.
Fortunately for me, my story does have a happy ending. I can say, wholeheartedly, without a shadow of a doubt, my sophomore year was the best year of my life, and here's what I learned through this miraculous one-eighty of a 365 days:
If you hate your major, change it. Changing my major changed my life. I came into my first year as a marketing major, upon my mother's advice, because I didn't know what else I wanted to do with the rest of my life (daunting, I know). I didn't know much about marketing at the time, and one of the most important things that I did learn (and there wasn't much), was that it wasn't for me. The prerequisite classes were boring and I was miserable. Therefore, I knew I had to make a change. On a whim, spring semester of freshman year, I took an introductory communications class and really enjoyed it. After more research and talking with people within the major, my fall semester sophomore year schedule was filled with communications classes, and I was lucky enough to transfer into that major.
College is a time to take classes you never thought were offered, some examples being The History of Rock 'n' Roll or Violence and Peace Studies (both of which I have taken). Even if you're a biology, pre-med, engineering, or whatever major, if something piques your interest, even in the slightest, get your feet wet in a new area of study. You'll be thankful you at least gave it a chance.
Study. Simple, right? Eh, not so much. In high school, I rarely, if ever, actually sat down and studied. I was a "skim the pages of a text book for ten minutes" kind of kid, so legitimate studying really wasn't my forte. If you don't know what to study or how to study, talk to your professor (they're actually nice people), and get their advice. Additionally, talk to any friends who have taken the class or current classmates and see what they've done. You can study with them or even exchange study guides. Lastly, study on your own for at least a week before the test- studies have shown that studying information over a week of time, for about an hour or so a day, will help you retain information more effectively than if you had instead pulled an all-nighter cramming the night before. Find what works for you.
Join clubs that you like (and you may be scared to join) and quit the ones you hate. Why would you bother staying in a club that you dread attending? Quit. It's as simple as that. Once you quit that club, consider joining one that you were too nervous to join before. Don't know anyone who's part of your collegiate radio station, but you really love music? Who cares! Join anyway! Take a leap of faith! These clubs get new members every day. Don't be afraid to branch out, seriously. The payoff is absolutely worth that small amount of initial fear.
If you're not a drinker, smoker, or whatever, don't pretend to be one. I never considered myself a drinker before college, and there's a reason for that: I'm not a drinker. I hate drinking. It's not my cup of tea. However, peer pressure is a very real epidemic, and I should have stuck to my guns when I said, "No thanks, I'm not really into drinking." The partying does catch up to you (and your weight), and when you're not a "party person" (like myself), it gets old and you will get burnt out very quickly.
Be comfortable with yourself. This sounds like an easy one, but in my case, it was much easier said than done. The college environment, albeit exciting and new, is incredibly intimidating. I quickly realized that I wasn't one of the smartest kids in my classes anymore. I was at a school where almost everyone was on the same playing field and the harsh reality was that I was one of the worst players. I was constantly questioning myself, from what I wore to what I said. But once I was in my sophomore year, and once I began following the four points of advice that I outlined above, I truly was comfortable with myself as a person. I found that once I was able to accept who I was, flaws and all, I was able to strive to be a better version of myself, instead of aspiring to be better than my just as, if not more, ambitious and intelligent classmates.
