I have successfully completed my first semester of college. This is something I never thought I would be able to say. College has been a whirlwind so far to say the least. It has taught me a lot about living on my own, how to penny pinch, and most importantly myself. Going through high school, I always felt lost. I never knew what I wanted to do with my life. Always having doubts about being successful later in life. While I still sometimes feel lost, college has helped me find myself a little more. But I can't lie; the first few months were rough. Really rough. I can remember my second week there just calling my mom, begging for her to let me drop out. I had no friends, no job, and no self-confidence. I'm now thankful my mom told me to suck it up and get through it, because it worked out by the end of the semester. I ended up finding a few good friends, losing a few friends, finding a job, and somewhat figuring out my life. While I'm still a mess, I can at least still say I didn't drop out. Here are some things I have learned throughout the past semester:
- It's okay if you don't instantly make friends
If you're like me who chose to go to a college where you knew absolutely no one, this is for you. Going into college I was naive enough to think it was going to be just like the movies. Becoming best friends with you're roommates, perfect grades, parties every weekend. However this literally isn't the case at all, or it wasn't for me. It took me awhile to be able to make friends and open up to people. There were a lot of nights where I just laid in my bed, wishing I had somewhere to be. People to spend time with. But the lesson here is: if you don't go out and at least try to make friends, you aren't going to make any. Join a club, get a job, go to college events. That is where you are most likely to make friends.
2. It's okay to let people go
High school friendships don't last forever, unless you actively put in the effort to maintain those friendships. But the reality is that everyone is going their own separate ways, and contact can become hard to manage. That's okay though, it gives you more of an excuse to go out and make new friends. I can honestly say that I've only kept in contact with three of my high school friends, and I'm ok with that. It's ok to let past friends go, because maybe you'll reunite in the future. Or maybe it's ok that you aren't friends anymore. Maybe they didn't benefit you enough, it's ok whatever the situation may be.
3. Take care of yourself
Keeping your mental health in tact can be hard, but it's doable. Going into college I was thriving from that summer. Working everyday, and hanging out with my friends after. I never wanted that to end. Going into college, my friends weren't there. Having no friends at first can be very lonely. For the first few months I was extremely depressed and wanted to drop out. For awhile every Monday I would have a mental breakdown on my bathroom floor. (Matty if you're reading this I'm sorry you had to listen to those breakdowns.) But eventually I realized that I wasn't in the right mindset, and I needed to get it together. I dropped the class that caused me extreme amounts of stress. I took the time to get to know my roommate. I took time for myself to sit and reflect about what was happening. Doing these things, eventually it started to get better. Anyway, the moral of this lesson is to do what you need to do in order to keep up your mental health.
4. College is harder than high school
I thought everyone was lying when they said this. However its a thousand percent true. You may only have class twice a week, but you will have homework for days. If you're like me and procrastinate doing homework, college is even harder. Don't procrastinate, it's not fun trying to scramble to get an assignment done. This is something I'm still trying to work on.
5. RENT YOUR TEXTBOOKS!
This is something I learned the hard way. I spent over $300 on one of my textbooks because I was under the impression that I needed the latest version of that textbook. This isn't true at all, old textbooks are perfectly fine. Professors usually could care less what version you are using. I recommend using Amazon rent, they are fairly cheap and efficient. The bookstore is a scam, rent your textbooks from other online sources.
6. Living on your own is awesome
Don't want to put that dish in the sink right away? Don't want to make your bed? You don't have to because you live on your own. Therefore you make your own rules. Or you follow the dorm rules. Living on my own has taught me a lot about life. Before college I never saved money because I never thought I needed to. Going into college and not having a job right away, I was forced to save money. I now buy great value instead of name brand and I'm not ashamed. Coupons are also helpful. Being independent is a good thing that I think everyone needs to experience at least once in their life.
7. I'm still learning
There are a lot of things that I am still learning about. I don't think I will ever have everything figured out, and that's okay. I'm learning how to live on my own and provide for myself. I'm learning more about how the whole college system works. Everything is trial and error, and that's also okay. It's okay to now know everything. It's okay to ask for help. Learning can be fun, or at least that's what I'm telling myself.
