You are about to go off to college. You feel a bundle of excitement and nerves because of the transition to a whole new experience in a different environment, surrounded by new fresh faces. You are worried about how the year will progress and you want to make the most of it, despite being away from your family and friends back home. Now, I just finished my first year of college and I think it is important that all incoming freshman become familiar with some tips of how I survived.
Leave the door to your dorm room open.
You must be thinking, “Why would I want to leave my door open?” Trust me, when my dad told me to do exactly what I am telling you to do, I was very hesitant at first. Although you may feel uncomfortable with leaving your door open, it allows and gives people the impression that it is okay for them to walk by and say a simple "hello" and introduce themselves. This is always a good first step to meeting new people.
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Go out and socialize.
Don’t just stay cooped up in your room. Go out and explore the campus. Say hello to people that walk by. Walk by people’s dorm rooms and just wave to them if the door is open. Don’t be afraid to socialize with new people because they are also in the same situation as you.
Join clubs.
Put yourself out there. Sign up for a number of clubs, even if they are clubs that take you out of your comfort zone. Being a part of a club gives you the opportunity to meet more people and create new friendships with people that are interested in similar things as you, such as the club you are both a part of.
Stay on campus.
A lot of people tend to go home every weekend, but what is the whole point of starting fresh and having the “college experience” if you’re only going to go home every weekend? The more you go home, the less likely you are to have time to make more friends and socialize with everyone staying on campus. It also doesn't give you time to really appreciate the place you're going to be staying at for the next four years. Going home destroys the purpose of living the dorm life and trying to create new memories.
Do not procrastinate.
All right, we have all had those moments and experiences where we would put a homework assignment or essay off until the day before it's due. Let me tell you, you may have done this in high school and you were completely fine, but college is a whole different story. You will be pulling all-nighters, making it hard to function and focus in class the next morning. Do not put your work off until the night or you will mentally and emotionally stress yourself out.
If you have a car or your friend has a car on campus, use it.
Okay, so the first few months of college were a little hard for me, especially on the weekends because I had no access to a car. I started making more and more friends and they had their cars on campus, which gave us all the chance to actually go out on the weekends rather than staying cooped up on campus. There will be times when you'll want to go out and do something, so go out and do it. Either you take your friend’s car if given permission to, or you guys both go out; just go do something! You get to explore the area around your college as well, which is always fun. I realized later during this semester how much fun it is to go out and hang out with new people. I have grown a lot closer to many different people throughout the school year. Trust me when I say it is a lot of fun.
Call your families and friends once in a while.
It is completely normal to feel homesick. Even if you are only an hour away, it is totally okay to cry and feel upset about being away from your family and friends for a school year. Trust me, I understand that. That was me for the first few weeks of college, but it gets a lot better. Give your families and friends a call every once in a while so it doesn’t feel like you’re completely disconnected from them. Remember, you are only away for college for two semesters to fulfill an education, you are not going to be gone forever.
Get ahead of the game.
Do your homework early so you do not have to worry about it later on. Use the week to get all of your work done and then once you are finished, use the weekend to reward yourself. Do not use the weekend just to study and stress out over school when you could be using that free time to be lazy and do things you actually enjoy.
Take advantage of the cafeteria.
Okay, I know the food may not be as great as what you hoped coming into college, but trust me, you are going to want to eat. Do not starve yourself. Do not waste your money on expensive delicacies off campus when you could be getting all of your food on campus with just the swipe of your school ID. Also, by not eating the food on campus, your parents are paying for a meal plan you don’t even use, which is not fair to them. So eat!
Just make the most of it.
Make the most of it, guys. I know it may be difficult at first, but if I could do it, you could, too. Create as many memories with people as you can so you have something to look back on when you get older. You want to have a nice and exciting start to the college life, not a regretful one.
