Your freshman year of college is only a few short months away. Maybe you know where you're going, or maybe you're still deciding. Whatever position you are currently in, you are starting to look into the future of what attending a college or university will look like for you.
While looking ahead at the bright future you are about to embrace, please make sure to keep these important notes in the back of your mind through it all:
It's okay to be nervous.
Maybe it is your first time leaving home or being apart from your parents. Nerves are completely normal and expected. College is a brand new experience for everyone, no matter where you are going or where you have been. It is time for you to grow as a person and make a new life for yourself, including making new friends, new classes, and new teachers, as well as figuring out your path for the future.
Anyone who says they are not nervous is either lying or it hasn't hit them yet. No one is "cool" for not being nervous to go to college and, certainly, no one is lame for being nervous. This is a brand new experience for us all, and you have every right to be anxious. That being said, it all works out. As cliche as that sounds, I can't stress it enough. You will naturally fall into a pattern while going through the everyday motions of attending your classes, getting a hang of the campus and finding a solid group of people you can chill with.
Make goals to get out of your comfort zone.
You are going to be exposed to a campus of opportunities including but not limited to greek life, clubs, academic opportunities, jobs, and social situations. The best way to get yourself out there and make friends is to do as many fun things as possible and meet as many people as you can.
For example, if you like going out every night, maybe try staying in with a group of girls one night and watch a cute movie with popcorn to get to know each other. Or, if you tend to stay in and chill, maybe try going out with some of your new friends and have a fun time. Whatever way you slice it, try new things— you might be surprised what you discover about yourself.
You do not have to know what you want to do with your life yet.
Some freshman will be in their specific majors and programs already, and they might seem like they have it all figured out. But coming from someone who has their major picked out already, I can assure you that no one has it fully, 100 percent, without a doubt, figured out.
There are so many options in the world to consider, and even within certain majors, there are hundreds of paths you can take. The point is that there is no rush to figure it out because you are just experiencing what college is for. It is to expose you to the endless possibilities of the world and to prepare you to succeed in whichever way you choose. Freshman year can be used to experience and observe. There is no ticking clock to choose or figure it out.
Lastly, just breathe.
Take in these last few months of being at home. Every time you step into your shower without shower shoes, look down at your feet and remember how clean they feel. Whenever your mom or dad makes a home cooked meal, don't complain about what they made or how you wished you could have gone to a restaurant instead. Eat it up and remember how good a home cooked meal is.
Every time your parents offer to drive you somewhere, take it. Seriously. Take it. And most importantly, appreciate your parents' involvement in your life. In college you can totally call them all the time and update them on your everyday occurrences, but it won't nearly be the same was when you came home from a day at high school and they already know what you have done that day.
Freshman year will be a complete transition for everyone, but just remember to breathe and remember that you are not alone.
