There's groups around every corner that would love to include you.

It's common to find yourself isolated in college. It's a new school, new town, and it's filled with thousands of people that you don't know. You might feel lonely for a little while but it's so important to put yourself out there and expose yourself to a whole world of possibilities. In college, joining a club, a team, or a sorority/fraternity is always a great way to start, and I wish I would've gotten involved sooner than I did.

Sure, you can learn and talk about these things online but having that genuine interaction with people, going to events, and trying new things that are beyond your comfort zone is something that can't be grasped or appreciated unless you physically apply yourself.

Check out CampusLink for some organizations and clubs to join, like this one and this one, so you'll feel at home sooner rather than later!

Your first college football game as a student will be such a rush.

That feeling you have when the marching band performs their pre-game show, the roar of the crowd when the team scores a touchdown, chanting in the student section, hearing the orange paddles pound against the wall, making an appearance on the jumbotron, getting sunburned in the blazing fall sun, and celebrating a Cowboy win at a raging afterparty?

No Zoom call could ever replicate that rush. Watching everything happen on a screen won't resonate with you the same way as being there in person would. It's something that you need to experience first-hand, trust me.

Try to avoid parties in off-campus student neighborhoods.

These parties get busted quicker than all the others. While these neighborhoods like Aspen, Progress, Prime Place, The Reserves, and so on are more prominent (and popular) in the party-designated GroupMes, the security guards in these neighborhoods like to really earn their paychecks and patrol during prime party/drinking hours.

If you want to go to a party that's less likely to be busted by neighborhood security, the cops, or otherwise, befriend some upperclassmen, score an invite to a house party, and you're all set. They've been to a party or two (or 30+) and know the ups, downs, lefts, and rights of hosting parties that don't get busted, are beyond fun, and significantly less dangerous.

Knowing one or two people at a party is OK, but knowing everyone in the house is better, more fun, and far less risky in terms of safety.

It's like Christmas when 'Preacher Bob' comes to town.

The week that 'Preacher Bob' comes to campus is something that we honestly look forward to. Oklahoma State, and other campuses nationwide, are visited at least once a year by a traveling preacher that likes to damn college students for their "sins". I know it sounds bad, I do, but it's also the most entertaining thing to watch, especially if you're not a faith-driven person.

Everyone, or most people at least, know that you should only take anything he says with a grain of salt. However, that doesn't stop students from engaging with him in a Bible verse battle, whether it be for fun or otherwise. Make no mistake, I guarantee that what he says will be infuriating and/or questionable most of the time (if no one warns you first) but as you progress from a freshman to a sophomore, junior, and senior, you'll be excited to see what kind of mess 'Preacher Bob' will stir up next.

Edmon Low Library and The Atherton Hotel are believed to be haunted.

Every old building with creepy hallways and dark corners needs a ghost story right?

Well, in the basement of our beloved library lies the story of a red-headed woman that likes to show herself around some corners - only to not be there when you do a double-take, that enjoys some reading in her disrupted afterlife, and likes to throw some books when she's feeling rather daring. The basement doesn't see a whole lot of traffic nowadays and as a result, some say that our red head got a little bored and likes to hang out on the third floor now. So when you're doing some late-night studying up there and you see something in the corner of your eye and get curious, don't expect to see anything when you turn your head to look.

The hotel that's connected to our Student Union has had its fair share of stories told, sightings here and there, lights that like to flicker with no feasible explanation, doors opening and closing on their own, and the classic pairing of shadowy figures and cold breezes. The fact that the Atherton can score a rank in the list of the most haunted hotels in Oklahoma definitely piques your interest - or at least it piqued mine. Sometimes, the activity in the Atherton likes to expand to certain areas in the Union, so keep an eye out.

The curse/rumor of the Morrill Hall stairs is alive and well.

There's nothing haunted about this, unlike our library and hotel, because this one is psychological - if anything. As far as I'm aware, it's rarely seldom to deliver. Basically, if you walk up the outdoor stairs at Morrill Hall, rumor has it that you'd be cursed with a late graduation.

You'd think this would be something that you can shrug off as something stupid the upperclassmen say, which is true for the most part. Whether you're superstitious and choose to humor the rumors by not ascending the staircase, or decide to take everything with a grain of salt whilst taking advantage of a mid-staircase picture, that's 100 percent your decision.

Let's just say that I chose to ignore the upperclassmen and disregard the curse and as a result, guess who is graduating one year later than she was supposed to? Just do not walk up the Morrill Hall stairs.

It's not called 'America's Greatest Homecoming' for no reason.

This is the time of year that all Cowboys and girls, of all ages, look forward to. Our Homecoming Week gets kicked off by dyeing the library fountain orange, then is followed by Walkaround in Greek Row, Hoco & Hoops, the Sea of Orange Parade, and bring it to a close with the Homecoming football game. I know I said there's nothing like the rush of your first football game, but the Homecoming game gives your first experience a run for its money.

You can talk about the Homecoming festivities via Zoom all you want but the fact is, you need to be there.

Grubhub will be your best friend.

If you don't have it downloaded yet, do it now. Whether you're lazy or have back-to-back classes and want something to eat, this app is a great thing to have at your disposal.

Pro tip: order your food about 10-15 minutes before class ends, that way you can just grab and go without having to grow impatient in unreasonably long lines. To avoid said lines, everyone orders online and these orders tend to get backed up faster than the Chic-Fil-A line in the Union. You may not believe me now, but you'll learn.

Even if you think you can handle an 8/9 a.m. class, don't do it.

I really tried to steer away from anything surrounding academics, but I wouldn't truly be helping you if I didn't sneak this in somewhere.

Speaking from personal experience, do not enroll in an early morning class. You may think you're an early bird, early riser, a morning person, or whatever but those late nights working on assignments will catch up with you eventually and it won't be pretty.

Sundays WILL be your designated 'homework day'.

I might as well dedicate the last slot to something that will directly affect you throughout the entirety of your college experience: your Sundays are spoken for from here on out.

This will be the day that you catch up on the everything from the previous week and jump ahead for the next. As much as you try not to procrastinate and do your homework gradually throughout the week to avoid last minute submissions, it won't last. Eventually, you'll stop trying and you'll make the executive decision that Sunday Fun-day is no more.