Tough Moments Every College Freshman Goes Through | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

Tough Moments Every College Freshman Goes Through Year One On Campus

Lets be honest, freshman year is full of trying times.

239
Tough Moments Every College Freshman Goes Through Year One On Campus

In This Article:

You are away from home for the first time, completely on your own. This is both exciting and fun, and terrifying and challenging. If you haven't been through it yet, here is what you can expect. And if you have been through it, then I'm sure you can relate to every one of the following things.

1. Being (really) sick with nobody to help you for the first time. 

If you think the stomach flu in the comfort of your own home is bad, wait until you experience catching it in a freshman dorm. Not to scare you, but when you're living in a building that circulates your air with hundreds of other people and their new germs, you are destined to get pretty sick at least once. Just know that when you hit rock bottom and your mom isn't there to drive you to Urgent Care and you have to walk your horribly ill self across campus to the health center, you will wish you hadn't taken her and her cups of hot tea so for granted all of these years.

2. Questioning whether you choose the right school.

Choosing a college is a huge decision! Realistically, where you decide to go to school is something that will impact you for the rest of your life. It is where you will meet lifelong friends, make post-college job connections, and maybe even meet your future life partner. So like I said- big decision. And because there are so many options, you are likely to doubt yourself at one point or another.

"Should I have gone to a smaller more private school? Should I have stayed home and gone to college in-state with my high school friends? Should I have gone with my second choice instead?"

All of these are questions I tortured myself with during first semester before I really found my place at ASU. The reality is you could drive yourself crazy wondering the "what-ifs" but you have to trust that you made a good choice, and give yourself at least a year to adapt before ruling it out.

3. Wondering if you can survive living in a tiny dorm room with a roommate all year.

Don't get me wrong, having a roommate is a blast most of the time. You get to have sleepovers every night, share clothes, talk at every hour of the day... But if you're anything like me then sometimes you just need a little bit of personal space. Well honestly, there isn't much such thing as personal space in a freshman dorm with people constantly in and out of your room and another person living in the same 10-by-10 area as you. Just learn to appreciate it and know that it is the only time in your life that you will have an experience like that assuming you don't live in shared dorms your later years of college.

When the year ends, you will find yourself kind of missing fighting over sink space and being woken up at 2 a.m. to listen to "the craziest thing that just happened to them at the party."

4. The first time you visit home, you won't want to come back.

The first time I visited home over a long weekend in the fall, I remembered how comfortable and familiar everything was and I barely was able to make myself board the flight back when it was time. I landed in Arizona and cried the whole Uber ride back to campus. Out of state college intimidating at first, it will push you out of your comfort zone all the time. That's what makes you grow and become a better, stronger person though. It will be so worth it the first time you visit your hometown and realize that place is no longer your home and you can't wait to get back to school to your new life there.

5. Realizing the freshman 15 (or negative 15) is sooo real. 

You are in a totally new environment, with totally new foods, and totally new activities. Some people find themselves busier than they have ever been, and the nonstop lifestyle leads to forgetting to eat and exhausting themselves on the daily. Others will fall into stress eating during finals, partying more and hitting the gym less, and too many late night fast food runs. Either way, you will probably notice a change in your body at some point. Just make sure to adapt yourself and develop healthy balance patterns and this one will be a pretty easy fix.

6. You might wonder if you declared the wrong major.

Well, there's nothing wrong with this. A lot of people do at first. The best thing to do is to make regular appointments with your freshman advisor. They will sit down with you and talk you through your options and show you what each of those would mean.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

1705
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

1110
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 20 Thoughts College Students Have During Finals

The ultimate list and gif guide to a college student's brain during finals.

290
winter

Thanksgiving break is over and Christmas is just around the corner and that means, for most college students, one hellish thing — finals week. It's the one time of year in which the library becomes over populated and mental breakdowns are most frequent. There is no way to avoid it or a cure for the pain that it brings. All we can do is hunker down with our books, order some Dominos, and pray that it will all be over soon. Luckily, we are not alone in this suffering. To prove it, here are just a few of the many deranged thoughts that go through a college student's mind during finals week.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

1712
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments