I came into freshman year of college as a ball of anxiety. I frequently asked these questions: "Would I have friends?" "Will I get good grades?" or "How will I live hours away from home?"
Being a first generation student, I didn't have much guidance going into college, and a lot of it I had to figure out on my own. So here is a list of some of the most important things I learned during my time as a freshman.
1. You will fail
This came as a shock to me after the first round of exams in the first semester. I was a biology pre-medicine major, so I had plenty of science classes. The first exam I took was for my biology course. I didn't think it was too difficult and I didn't spend as much time as I probably should have to study for it.
I received my first ever C on an exam.
I thought, how could this be? I was a straight-A student in high school! This was my very first lesson of college: you will fail, but you can still try your hardest and give it your all to get your grades to where you want them.
2. There are SO many new people to meet
I came from a very small town, so coming to college was daunting. The college was bigger than my town itself. Only two others from my graduating class came to the same college, so I had to make friends.
In this day and age, we have social media to connect us, hence coming in, I had already made a few connections over Snapchat. If it hadn't been for this one connection, I would have never met the guys that eventually became my best friends.
A good thing to do is in every lecture, introduce yourself. Every party or hangout you go to, introduce yourself to as many people as you can. This will only help you make new friends!
3. If you want to do it, do it
I used to be a girl who played it safe. I never really opened up and put myself out there and experienced new things. I had a new start in my life with college. So I decided it was time to change and experience everything I could.
I tried sushi for the first time, rushed a sorority, and even went traveling over spring break with friends. If you want to do something, there is nothing stopping you other than yourself.
4. Don't go home every weekend
People get homesick, but don't miss out on the weekend fun of college. My goal was to go home once a month, if not every two months. It was just enough. Even when I did go home, I missed being at the college. After a long, grueling five days during the week, letting loose on a Friday, going out and having fun with friends was key. Most of my favorite memories were from the weekends of college.
5. Friends become family
I struggled with a lot of friendships in high school. Coming into college, I heard about how you would meet your lifelong friends in college. I didn't really know what to think of this or what to expect.
But after the very first night, I was already in a group chat with 10 other people. In this chat, we would talk about when people wanted to go eat at the dining center together, who wanted to go study, or what the weekend plans were.
Eventually, some of these people went off on their own, but a few of us still stuck together and are still my friends nine months later. You eat, sleep, cry, laugh, do everything together. Eventually you create your own little family that you couldn't imagine life without.
Freshman year has already taught me so much about life and it was only one fourth of my college experience. It truly is the best time of your life, where you find your life long friends, and find yourself along the way. So cheers to a wonderful year.
