While you’re in college to get an education, there are some lessons that you just can’t get from a lecture hall. College is a learning experience, both inside and outside of the classroom.

1. It’s cool to call your parents. While in high school it may have been lame to consider your mom your best friend, in college it suddenly turns into a secret competition of whose mom is the best. Calling home is something that you should make a habit of, especially if your parents are paying for your degree. Having that form of familiarity be a phone call away helps you to stay grounded, focused, and sane.
2. Time management is key. I heard this one a lot before I got to school, but when I got my schedule and saw how much free time I had I thought, “how could I have time management issues when I have all the time in the world!” I quickly learned however that this was exactly the problem. When you have all the time in the world, you assume you’ll find some time to squeeze in your work. However, a few Netflix binges later you’ll learn the hard way that that essay isn’t going to write itself.
3. If you’re going to eat a bagel, let it be a good one. While I’m far from the model for clean eating, I do believe this simple rule helped stray me away from the freshman 15. Being from New Jersey, I have a pretty high standard for bagels, and I also find them to be an essential component of the food pyramid. Therefore, I’ve decided to maintain my standards in college. I haven’t cut out bagels entirely, but I don’t mess around with the dining hall bagels. If I’m eating a bagel, it’s going to be a good bagel.
4. But never pass up on free food. Seriously, I couldn’t tell you why college kids love free food so much. Even if you have an unlimited meal plan, there’s simply no better feeling than getting food for free. It doesn’t even have to be good food, it just has to be free food really.
5. You’re going to have to learn to sleep with noise. This noise can take shape in many different forms. The first few weeks, the combination of both mine and my roommates fans were so loud that during the day we’d have to yell to hear each other. Once it cooled off enough for us to turn down the settings, we could hear people up at all hours of the night outside our window. Now that we can finally sleep with no fans and the windows closed, we can spend all night listening to the conversations of our floormates through the ever so thin walls.
6. Take advantage of all the opportunities you’re given. College is such an incredible unique experience, and you only get to live it once. This is your time to explore new things that you haven’t been able to up until now, and may not be able to after this. So go ahead; join a team of a sport you’re bad at, try out for a play when you’re not an actor, and join weird clubs you’d never even thought of.

First semester freshman year is truly an experience to learn and grow. This is an experience you probably will never have again, so it’s important to make the most of it.