Do I need to carry a backpack? How many binders and notebooks will I need if I am taking 15 credit hours? What if I can't make it from one class to another with only 10 minutes to spare? If you are asking yourself any of these questions, you are definitely a college freshman.
You have just graduated high school with a fantastic GPA, too many cords to count, and an immaculate feeling of accomplishment. Then, when you least expect it, your first job sneaks up behind you and steals the entirety of your summer. Just when you thought you had crossed the threshold into adulthood and there was only one way left to go, you truly hit rock bottom. That's right. It's the start of your freshman year of college, and now you have to navigate being a full time student, working a job to make a living and having a healthy social life.
Beginning this new college experience can be just as frightening as it is exciting. After all, it is another chapter of your life, one in which you have never stepped foot in. We are going from carrying a hall pass and raising our hands to use the restroom, to the expectation of knowing exactly what we want to do and be in life.
The summer after I graduated from high school, I was offered my very first job. I took it right away so I could make a little money before I had to start being an "adult." I work in a call center with other students, all of whom are in college and already have a clear lay of the land. It is safe to say that I have learned more than a few things about what my college experience would consist of.
As the summer was coming to an end, I started to picture the near future and what it would entail. I had attended the new student orientation and something dawned on me that day. I would not be living on campus with what seemed like the rest of the student population. I thought, will I still get the full "college experience" if I live at home and commute to my classes? The answer is, YES! Even if you do not live in a "typical" dorm, and share a hall with 25 other girls, you can still find enjoyment in going to college. After all, who does not like free loads of laundry and sleeping in your own warm bed?
No matter what anyone tells you, you do not have to join every organization. It is important to find your niche, the place that you best fit in with the university. If that means being a part of a team and working together to achieve a common goal, sports might be for you. If you enjoy community service and the act of doing more for others than for yourself, clubs might be for you.
Whatever it is that makes you happy, can be applied to your college journey. You just have to know how to navigate through that first, and ever so awkward year of school.
I have done my fair share of worrying and dreading my first day of college, but as I have allowed myself some time to think on the matter, I am looking forward to stepping out and creating new memories.
Most students graduate high school believing they are on the top of the food chain, but are quickly thrown into the deep end of reality. Don't be one of those college freshman who drown in the new experience. Breathe it in deep and just remember that everyone around you feels just as frantic and scared as you feel. Some people are just better at hiding their true emotions. You may look silly, but you will not be alone in doing so.
