The Journey Of A First Year College Student | The Odyssey Online
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The Journey Of A First Year College Student

The first year was full of twists and turns, but you made it.

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The Journey Of A First Year College Student
Stetson University

As the first of many college years come to a close, reflect back onto the whirlwind of emotions that encompassed the year.

You first arrived to campus and moved all your stuff into this tiny-compact living space, which you had to share with one or two additional people for the entire course of the year here. You said your goodbyes to your mom, dad, brother, sister, and whoever else decided to tag along on the monumental occasion. Either you are the first one to attend college or the last one to leave the house, or somewhere in the middle this is a huge deal for your parents. They raised you and watched you go through everything that you have in life, now they have to give up the right to see all that you accomplish at a school hours away from them. Yes, you sent them the occasional picture, but that is not the same to them. Some of you felt relief of being away from them always looking over your shoulder and some of you felt empty because you no longer had your mom there to help you (admit it whenever we are stuck or confused we want our mom to help us, especially when we lost something).

You are midway through the first semester. You have made a lot of friends and are becoming more comfortable with the college atmosphere. The first semester was not all rainbows and butterflies, there were a lot of storms that came rolling over you. Whether it was you failed your first exam or you did not get the grade you wanted on a paper that you were so confident on. You then thought to yourself: “This is not me…I have always succeeded with this."

You called your parents crying because you just did not know what to do or if you were ever going to improve. You felt like you were at the lowest point in your education that you have ever experienced. You just did not know what to do next.

After your first semester was over and you went home for winter break, you anxiously awaited to see your final grades. When those grades did come out, you were overjoyed to see that you passed, because you put in so much work and you deserved to pass. Even if the grades weren’t what you wanted, you learned to accept them because you are not going to get the grades that you were in high school and you were okay with that.

Welcome to second semester. You are ready to take the bull by the horns and do better than you did last semester. You worked harder than you did first semester, along with getting more involved in clubs and organizations and just on campus in general. These connections that you made help you to seek a way to take a break from studying and relieve the stress that you are enduring.

Finally second semester of your freshman year is soon to be over or already over. You did the best you can and that is what you need to be proud of. Be proud of the work you accomplished, the friends you made, and the impact that your school had on you. Whether the year went like it wanted or not, you still made it and that is what you should be most proud of.

You did it!

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
sex and the city
Warner Bros. Television

1. You don't have to feel guilty about flirting with customers for tips (or just for shits and giggles).

2. You can be obnoxiously flirtatious with anyone you want. You are free to be that girl that flirts with everybody and makes 'em all smile (it's especially fun when the guy is as cute as Collin Jost). No shame.

3. Making random men nervous with your superior beauty and intense eye contact just for the hell of it is really amusing and empowering.

4. No one gives two poops if ya legs are hairy (your man shouldn't either but *Kermit the Frog meme* That's none of my business)

5. The toilet seat will remain down.

6. There's more money to spend on yourself.

7. There's always this secret butterfly in your tummy that marvels at the possibility that when you go out this weekend you're gonna meet someone super handsome/wonderful/prince-like and have this moment of dazzling dalliance.

8. Nothing is that serious...you can take it all with a grain of salt...you don't owe anybody anything.

9. You can dance with anyone and everyone...or no one (Hello frat boi w/ glasses, I see you).

10. You don't have to fluff anyone's ego but your own.

11. Free drinks and dinners from single guys (It's not taking advantage if they're offering; a girl's gotta eat).

12. You have more time to learn how to love and improve yourself rather than constantly pouring your energy into another person.

13. You don't have to sacrifice your cheesy Jen Aniston rom-coms and Gilmore Girls for his Fast and Furious/other dumb action movie featuring blonde that is only in the movie to supply a relationship to the male lead and to make him look more masculine/empowered in juxtaposition (In other words, you don't have to deal with a guy being a crabby Patty while you watch your cute movies).

14. You can daydream about what your future husband may be doing right now (and not get stressed/guilty out because you're not picturing your current boyfriend that's crazy about you as your future husband).

15. There is more time to be spent with your girlfriends.

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We've all been there - you've been saying since Tuesday after French that this weekend is the weekend. You're finally going to break out those new heels and actually put on eyeliner on and make this Friday night be one for the memory books! That is, of course, until Girls Night Out turned into...Girls Night In.

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What Is Your Zodiac GIF?

Characteristics of the astrological signs, explained through GIFS.

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Wordpress

Whether you believe astrology is a legitimate "science" or not, we have all found ourselves looking at our horoscopes from time to time. The 12 astrological signs all fall under one of four elements: air, water, earth, or fire. Air signs are rational, social, and love to communicate with others. Water signs are are emotional, intuitive, and mysterious. Fire signs tend to be passionate, creative, and adventurous. Earth signs are conservative, realistic, and loyal.

Each sign is determined by the relative positions of celestial bodies to ourselves at our moment of birth, which is said to influence our personalities. Find your zodiac GIF below, based on the traits and characteristics provided by each sign.

***Disclaimer: GIFS are meant to be lighthearted and are based on descriptions of signs from http://www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com/.

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If you haven't read the first part of this, I would highly suggest to, specifically because the Public Service Announcement placed in the beginning of that article still applies. If you don't feel like reading part one, I will try to cover it quickly. Basically, long story short, I am a pretty boring person and lead a pretty ordinary life. Due to this, please do not expect for the things I consider ridiculous to be what others may deem it. I promise that each of these I have done with a complete sane, mildly bored, brain. With all of this being said, please enjoy the semi-absurd things I have been lead to do in the second semester of my freshman year at college.

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They're not just your friends, they're your family.

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College is supposed to be one of the best times of your life. However, it is also one of the toughest transitions to make. There is so much anticipation and excitement leading up to moving into college. It doesn’t truly hit you until move in day when your parents say their final goodbyes and you see their car drive away. You truly are on your own. I was blessed to meet my best friends within the first week of school. Your college friends are so important and here’s why:

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