When I started my freshman year at Florida State University, my mind was overloaded by the college experience. There were so many new people to meet and too many new things to do. The classes were ridiculously difficult (I was a biology major at the time) and I had no idea how to tackle the massive amount of studying and homework that I was assigned. I was living in a small, box-like dorm room in Smith Hall (may that building rest in peace), away from my family, with a guy I had never met before. All of that, coupled with my tendency to over-think and worry excessively, created a very irritable and stressed out Danny Hynes.

Realizing that my brain was probably going to implode due to the severe amount of stress I was under, I decided to adapt in order to survive, like most intelligent members of the animal kingdom. The strategies I created and the habits that I formed during the first semester of my freshman year clearly seem to have been successful, considering that I am now a relaxed and clear-minded Junior with over a 3.0 GPA.

Now, the information I’m about to share with you is in no way a concrete or fool-proof guide to enduring your first year of college. Everyone’s experience is different, and you may need to find or invent new ways to overcome the obstacles that are thrown at you. I encourage you to get creative with your situation; practicing solving your own problems now will help you immensely in the future. However, it also helps to have a few guidelines to get your thinking on the right track. So, without further ado, here’s how not to screw up freshman year, as told by myself.

1. If You’re Going To Party, Do It On The Weekend.

This was the first and most important thing I learned. When I started college, I felt like I should step out of my comfort zone more, so I started going out to clubs with my roommate and to events with my new friends. I had tons of fun, and I loved having so much freedom. I loved it so much that I went out whenever I could, regardless of what was happening the next day. Then, about two or three weeks into the semester, I started to notice that my grades weren’t as good as they should be and that I had no idea what was going on in class. After panicking and having a miniature heart attack, I decided to crack down hard on myself. I limited my “going out” time to only Fridays and Saturdays, with a few exceptions in regard to major school-wide events or general days off. As a result, my grades improved immediately and my classes started to make a lot more sense. Moral of the story: being a “weekend warrior” definitely pays off in the long run.

2. Start Your Homework Early.

After I stopped going out as much and starting giving my schoolwork more attention, I realized this one fairly quickly. Because I hated doing homework, I would put it off until 11:00 pm or midnight and finish it around two or three in the morning. Unfortunately, that only left me with about four or five hours of sleep every night, which began to really affect me in the morning and during class. I was always late or getting to my morning class just as it started, and I remember being called out by my professors multiple times for napping in class, which embarrassed the hell out of me. I decided to set a bedtime for myself (Yeah, I know that sounds lame. Work with me, ok?), which prevented me from staying up too late during the school week and encouraged me to start my homework earlier in the evening. It’s a difficult habit to pick up in the beginning, but once your body becomes accustomed to going to bed earlier it gets a lot easier.

3. Join Or Make A Study Group.

If you’re like I was freshman year and have to take ridiculously intense classes because of your initial major, I highly recommend that you join or create a study group. The people in my study group were the only reason I passed my Bio 1 class, and I thank God for their help, support, and friendship during that time of my life. It isn’t hard to do; simply find the most intelligent people in your class, get to know them, and then ask them if they want to study together on a regular basis. The odds are that they’ll happily say yes, because they’re just as desperate as you are to get an A.

4. Don’t Beat Yourself Up If You Fail.

It was hard for me to not think that my world was falling apart when I got a bad grade on an assignment or when I would miss a deadline. Back then, I had trained myself to think that everything had to be perfect and that I had to be the pinnacle of human achievement in order to be worth something. However, I began to understand that by trying to achieve perfection, I was doing more harm to myself than good. I got stressed out by trivial things, had several mental breakdowns, and became a nervous wreck. It was a completely unsustainable way to live. In order to be truly successful and to become the best person you can be, you need to accept that you are going to fail sometimes, and try to learn from each of your failures if and when they occur. That’s how you grow in both knowledge and wisdom.

5. Join A Club Or An Organization.

Although I would always meet a ton of people whenever I would go out, I found myself feeling pretty lonely when I first arrived at FSU. I didn’t really know anyone except for my brother, who is a year ahead of me, and a few people from my high school that I didn’t really want to hang out with. I searched in every person I met, but I couldn’t find anyone I could really connect with on a deeper level and form a genuine friendship with. However, because our family is extremely Catholic, my brother had joined the Catholic Student Union when he was a freshman, and had been encouraging me to come to some of their events ever since the day I moved into my dorm. I was quite reluctant at first; I wanted to do my own thing and I didn’t want to be stuck in my brother’s shadow. However, as I started coming around to CSU more and began to really get to know the people involved in it, I realized that most of them were just like me. I finally felt like I had found a place where I belonged. Since becoming involved in CSU, I’ve met some of my best friends and had experiences that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. If you’re searching for more wholesome relationships aside from the people you only see when you go out to clubs or parties, I highly recommend you join one of the clubs or organizations at FSU. I can say with absolute confidence that doing so changed my life.

Freshman year in college is usually quite insane for everyone. It definitely was for me. However, with the proper mindset and the ability to adapt, it is completely possible to embrace the chaos and make sense of it all. That is, until Sophomore year rolls around. Then nothing makes sense again. Good luck!