As a college freshmen, you’re bound to screw up. As a matter of fact, I would recommend taking risks during your college years. How are you supposed to learn from your mistakes if you never make any? Many times I thought it was the end of the world, but I’ve learned through trial and error that one mistake doesn’t define you as an individual.
Looking back at my first semester of college, I can see how naïve and careless I was. I lived in a one-stoplight town with divorced, overprotective parents, so when I moved to college I finally felt free for once. I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and nobody had to know about it. I didn’t realize the repercussions that would come with this new found freedom.
The transition from living at home to a dormitory is quite challenging. You go from being constantly provided for to having to be a responsible adult and take care of yourself. There is no longer someone nagging at you to pick up your room, stop taking naps, and so on. Throughout my first semester I grew tremendously as an individual, but during that process, I also made a lot of mistakes. I like to think mistakes come in all shapes and sizes and each mistake can affect a person in many ways.
My first official day of college started off with a mistake. I walked into my first class, sat down, looked around, and then it hit me…the girl sitting right beside me did not have the same textbooks I had, and that all of the students looked remarkably older than I did. Finally, I found the courage to ask her if I was in the right class, which it turns out I wasn’t. After finishing the walk of shame by leaving the already full classroom of college seniors, I went on a scavenger hunt to find my actual classroom. I ended up being ten minutes late to my class, but I learned from my mistake. Now, I always make sure to check to see what building and room my classes are in.
Other mistakes that I have made are much bigger than just mortifying myself in front of a bunch of cute seniors. For instance, trying to get back at the boy who cheated on me. Nothing ever good comes from revenge. Nothing. So don’t do it. Instead, continue being the wonderful person you are and move on.
We need to accept that we are not always going to make the right decisions and that’s okay. It’s okay to mess up in life. Good people make bad choices, that doesn’t make them a bad person. Your mistakes are not what define you as a person, but rather how you choose to overcome and get past them. Mistakes are terrifying because too often, people are obsessed with perfection and never having any setbacks in life, but I have come to find out that mistakes don’t scare me anymore. People are bound to mess up and we need to accept that. Mistakes are just another word for lessons. Lessons that help a person grow and become wiser with their future decisions. So please remember that no matter how big or small it is, one mistake doesn’t make you a bad person.
