Although there are a lot of great things to look forward to in life, freshman year is where it all begins.
When you look back on it, you have to just smile and shake your head. If it were a movie, it would be entitled "The Year of One Million Mistakes." No one judges you. Everyone just looks at your little freshman self and prays that you'll grow out of it.
For many, it's the first time living away from your parents. That first day they help you unpack, give you a hug, and walk out the door of your dorm room. You suddenly realize....YOU'RE FREE! You can now officially do whatever the hell you want...or so you think. At that very moment, you think there are no consequences, and it is glorious.
If you want to sleep til four o' clock in the afternoon, you do it. If you want to survive on nothing but Easy Mac and beer for two weeks straight, you do it. If you decide to binge watch Netflix, no one, and I do mean NO ONE, is going to judge you.
This year, more than all others, is the year you meet the people you're going to have by your side for the rest of your life. You meet your best friends, your bridesmaids/groomsmen, your sorority sisters or fraternity brothers---and if stuff gets REALLY weird, you might actually meet the person you're going to marry. But for that last one, I'm going to go ahead and say don't count on it. But hey, you might get lucky. You never know.
Freshman year is also the official year of new experiences. There are few things more exciting than getting decked out in your school's colors and going to your first college football game as a student. Even if you don't like football (which is insane, but whatever), it feels good to get up there and cheer for the home team and show all your school spirit. For a lot of us, this is also the first time we get a chance to really party. Whether you're dancing the night away at the bar or playing endless drinking games at a fraternity house, you feel like you're on Cloud Nine.
~mom, if you're reading this, I'm really sorry...~
This is a year that you learn a lot about yourself. Before now, you've been safely tucked under your parents wings. Now that you're finally out of the nest, you find out what you're really made of. You may have been the coolest kid at your high school, but now you're in a big pond, and all that goes out of the window. However, this is a good thing. It's time you get your head out of your butt and realize that there are more important things in life than being the most popular kid in your class.
(Just a heads up, those kids are the ones that peak in high school and stay in your hometown trying to become a rapper).
College is the time for you to figure out who you are. You might find out you're intensely creative, or an introvert, or maybe all of a sudden you realize you were meant to be a leader. No matter what, it has the ability to change the course of your life.
It's your time to get involved in as many things as you can. It's the time to become friends with everyone, because you never know who you'll stay friends with forever.
To upcoming freshmen that may be reading this article, a little quick advice:
1) Do NOT wear your letterman no matter how many times you won state. No one cares.
2) Don't drink Four Lokos ever. That is just begging to make some of those mistakes I was talking about earlier.
3) Put yourself out there. You might be scared, but in this new world known as college, the ones that sit in their rooms alone are the ones that are ready to go home for the holidays. Whatever you put into your college experience, it will give it right back to you.
4) Oh, and go to class. It is the key to not failing.
Good luck, young grasshoppers.
