Going into my senior year at Shippensburg University is bittersweet.
I am going through a major emotional roller coaster, and in all honesty, I am so not ready to graduate and move on. Seeing the freshmen come through the lines at my workplace, buying stuff for their dorms has me missing my first year.
It has made me realize as a senior I have some advice I want to pass along.
1. It's OK if you DON'T have a major.
Seriously it's not a sin to not have your life planned out, even if your family thinks it is. It gives you a chance to find something you enjoy to do because let's face it, you will be stuck in that career field for a long time. So go to your gen eds and explore what's out there.
2.Pick the major you're passionate about.
Please don't pick your major to please someone else. I also beg of you to not pick a major because of the starting salary. Do what you love. I can't say my family was too supportive of my choice to be an English major, but eventually they realized this is what makes me happy. Your choice affects your life- not someone else's, and money can't really make you happy as much as we like to think it can.
3. Get to know your professors.
This is the best decision I have ever made. I have professors I have known since freshman year, and professors I have met later on in my school career, but they have become my role models. They are some of the best people I know, and they have also allowed me to network in my career field. I have several who have offered to see if they can pull strings for me to get a job I love or a place to stay for an internship. So go to office hours, get involve with clubs based on your major, and even find on-campus jobs in your department.
4. Befriend your advisor.
They help you schedule... like befriend them, or you will find yourself in some awful classes. My advisor is also my actual role model, and I love her and aspire to be like her. She knows my personality and knows which professors I will mix well with in the department, and she expects me to be honest after taking a class on how I felt about it. Now she is willing to pull some strings to make sure I have a senior seminar I will actually enjoy. So get to know them, you'd be surprised by their story, like mine who used to be a boxer.
5. Join SOMETHING.
I pray you will get involved in something. Literally anything. It looks great on your resume, and can help you win the job over someone less involved. Plus college can get lonely, when all your friends are involved in something that takes up their time. Clubs and campus activities give you a chance to meet new people who have similar interests. Overall best choice you can make is to at least try to find something.
6. Look into Greek Life.
OK, look, I'm a bit biased since I'm in greek life, but that's why I said look into it and not join it. It's a great experience and a great community. I know it's not for everyone, and that's OK, but give it a chance. I can't tell you how many of my sisters said they'd never be in a sorority before they found their home. At the end of the day, we are all different groups, and you may find one who makes you feel like you found a second family.
7. Make friends with upperclassman.
A lot of us want to help and mentor you, so take the chance to get to know us. Yes it can be rough, because next thing you know your friends are graduating and you still have a few years left, but we have taught you all you know so you can strive in the next few years. We will tell you which professors and classes to avoid. We will help you find your way around campus. We will answer any questions you have, and we will make sure if we go out together you get home safe. Some like me will also give you water and ibuprofen after that night out to try and help you in the morning.
8. Be yourself.
I know it's tempting because you're in a new place with new people and want to impress them, but don't pretend to be someone you aren't. Your personality is unique to you, and if you don't show it, you will miss out on the friendships and relationships that will last, and that you deserve. So do your thang, chicken wing.
9. Freshman 15 doesn't have to exist
I lost 20 pounds my first year, so the freshman fifteen is not applicable to everyone. Yes, you will eat food that is awful for you. I mean between dining halls, ramen, and easy mac let's be honest weight gain can happen easily, but you also have access to a gym on campus, and you can get into the best shape of your life. It's ultimately up to you how your freshman year will go, and if you do gain the weight that's fine too because you know you're still perfect.
10. If your friendships fizzle out after freshman year, it's normal.
The Freshman Friend Group. Like many good things sometimes it just ends unexpectedly. I can tell you I'm not friends with anyone from freshman years, partly due to transfers and partly due to drama. Either way it's OK, and actually common that freshman friends don't always stick together for the next four years. Enjoy them now and who knows maybe you will be the exception to the rule.
11. Visit the town.
Especially in Shippensburg! Like this town has so many cool things that can be discovered from historical landmarks, to the Thought Lot. Go explore. Find trails and hiking paths. Meet with townies. Visit the local shops, and see what they have to offer. Overall just get to know the place that will be your semi-permanent home the next 4 years.
12. Cornfest. You better not miss out.
This is a Shippensburg tradition. Like if you don't go to Cornfest you are missing out. They have food trucks galore, like there are sometimes bison burgers. It's heaven. Not to mentions the corn on the cob is perfect and worth the line. There is also live music along with local vendors who line the streets. It is a great time to go out and enjoy a day filled with food.
13. Pick up a minor.
Not all majors allow this to happen easily I understand that, but it's really a smart move. It allows you to be more marketable in the job world, and you can find something you thought of majoring in before you found your perfect major. For some majors this is actually a godsend. Like mine because I had way too many free electives and now I get to fill them in with classes in a field I enjoy.
14. Never, ever, ever schedule and 8 a.m. unless unavoidable.
You poor soul if you already have one. Like an 8 a.m. is death for anyone like me who hates waking up early. I have never had one. It is possible to avoid I promise. Well for my major and minor anyway. Oh, and if you think, "Oh, I woke up earlier than that for high school, so I can do it," you're wrong. So yeah, just try to ignore those.
15. Go to football games.
They're honestly one of my favorite parts of college. Whether you go for the band, the guys, or the game it's honestly just perfect. Plus show some school spirit and cheer on your team. If nothing else, you get some entertainment from the drunk people in college park.
16. Don't buy your textbooks from the bookstore.
I hope you already know this, but just in case I'm putting it on this list. Also don't buy them before the first day of class because there's been too many times I didn't need the book. Go to any other textbook rental site or even Amazon and you will be saving money.
17. Don't wear your landyard around your neck.
This will identify you as freshmeat. Please don't do it. First off it looks weird. Secondly keeping your ID and keys on that make it easy to steal or to loose, especially when it's around your neck. I promise I'm trying to help you out here.
18. Find someone to "know here."
To get into any good party, you need to know someone. So, find that someone. This means either becoming friends with upperclassmen, so they can score you an invite or finding out the name of someone in every frat (or just use a common name like Brad). Either way, be prepared starting the second week to be asked who you know here, or finding out opens no longer exist.
19. Enjoy the next four years.
Please just enjoy the next four years. I can't tell you how much I have loved my time at Ship. From football games, to parties, to even the classes I have felt nothing but pride at being a Red Raider. I really am going to miss this place when I leave this coming spring, but it will forever have a place in my heart. Like I said, I am so not ready to graduate because I am so not ready to say goodbye.
