Before going off to college, we all imagined what our first week of freshman year would be like. We imagined meeting our roommate(s) for the first time, or just being excited to live on our own. We imagined saying goodbye to our parents and jumping up and down with excitement once they were finally out of sight. We have pictured walking into our first class, secretly hoping that our first professor is extremely cool.

We all imagined hundreds of scenarios in our heads of what our first week of college will be like, but once reality sets in, we realize that what we imagined is not always what it will turn out to be. I knew that once I got out of my mom’s car to move into my residence hall my life would never be the same, but I was absolutely clueless of what was going to happen next. This upcoming week was only the beginning of a new chapter, a new journey of my life.

Move-in day.

Whoever tells you move in day is absolutely hectic is absolutely right. I probably have never felt as much anxiety and stress in a whole day and I took AP Biology while stage managing my first show. First of all, your day starts very early in the morning (or depending on what time you have to move in) and if you are smart, you will pack your car the night before, but I was one of the select few who did not.

Getting to campus was the easy part, but once on campus you encounter long lines of traffic, people not knowing how to get from point A to point B, and tons of dorm essentials on the curbs of the sidewalk. I had to quickly unpack my car and carry all of my stuff up three flights of stairs all in a 15-minute block of time.

Then, the fun part started: unpacking. When you think you’re done packing, there’s always another container filled with stuff that you find somewhere around the room.

Around five hours later, the room was somewhat situated and it was time to say goodbye to the parents. You may tell yourself, over and over again, that you won’t cry, but when it hits that you won’t see your parents every day for a month or two, and now you’re finally on your own, it hits you like a ton of bricks. All I can say is hug your mom, dad, or guardian a little tighter and a little longer during the goodbye, say “I’ll see you soon,” and soak in the moment because you’ll miss those moments once they’re gone.

First night(s).

The first night wasn’t actually as thrilling as I thought it would be. It was mostly unpacking and finishing up decorating the dorm room. There were some parties going on around campus and events up at the union, but my roommate and I decided to go explore where our classes were since we had a six hour leadership conference the next day. It was strange just walking around late at night with worrying about your curfew or your parents texting you, “where are you>” or “come home” every so often. It was my first real sense of freedom, but along with that freedom comes a huge load of responsibility.

Since we moved in on a Saturday, we still had Sunday to attend events, such as a college tradition called Passing Through the Pillars. That was an incredible experience walking through the Old Main pillars while upperclassmen and faculty cheer you on as a little welcome to campus.

First day of classes.

The first day of classes started out normally with trouble getting out of bed, and a traditional first day of school. It was not until after my first class did I realize that college classes were drastically different than high school classes. My first class was suppose to be a 50-minute lecture that actually turned into a 20 minute discussion of the syllabus and being released early. Then, if you’re lucky, you have a couple of hours of break (which is a lot of time) between your classes. My second class was almost the same way, but instead we jumped into learning the first chapter of our textbook.

Whatever someone told you about not having any free time in college is completely false. You have an overabundance of time, you just have to use that time to your advantage. On average, you’re in class about two and a half hours a day (which is awesome), but there’s a lot of learning you have to do on your own time.

First week.

The first week wasn’t at all bad. I can feel my legs getting stronger since everywhere you turn there’s a hill to go up. I figured out that it doesn’t take me 10 minutes to get from one side of campus to the other. Also, my roommate and I discovered shortcuts to try to avoid the famous “Golding Hill” on campus.

I didn’t have a lot of homework this week, but outlining my syllabuses and getting a head start on things with make future me a very happy me. I’m still getting use to having lecture classes of over 120 people since my graduating high school class was around 200 people, but they honestly aren’t that bad.

Also, we figured out which of the dining halls we liked better for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast: Wilsbach. Lunch: Mills. Dinner: Wilsbach.

First weekend.

After a successful first week of classes, eating the dining hall food, and sleeping on a bed that’s almost as tall as me, the long weekend came around along with many fun events.

Friday: It was Red Day on campus. It was the college’s 126th birthday and we celebrated it with wearing red and the unveiling of Red’s (our mascot) new makeover. My roommate and I got caricatures of ourselves and balloon animals. That night we watched fireworks, grabbed some ice cream, and played cards against humanity with some of our hallmates until the early morning hours.

Saturday: Staying in bed late, getting breakfast around 11:30 and spending two hours looking for white clothes at our local Walmart made for an ideal Saturday. I took the Oneonta public transportation for the first time and it made me realize that I still get car sick on any moving vehicle.

A little advice to those who haven’t traveled across Interstate 88 into the shopping mall: you need to dedicate two or more hours in your day to make this trip because it’s a long one.

That night I attended a GlowRage where they throw paint at you and blast music. That was a great time.

Sunday: My dad traveled up to see my campus for the first time and he believes that there are too many hills around here. That night we attended an Echosmith concert in the arena, and that was such a great time.

So, was my first week of college everything I expected? Not at all.

And you know what, I’m okay with that because imagining or seeing what college is like from a different perspective is not real until you 100 percent experience it for yourself. College so far is completely different from what I’m used to and I’m starting to like it better each and everyday. I’m looking forward to the next 15 weeks -- year here, trying not to gain the freshman15.

I can’t wait to experience the whole journey of what is called college for myself.