It seems as if, for me, the biggest worry going into college was the inevitable “freshman 15”… little did I understand what that quote truly entitles.

15 New Stories

With every passing day of college, it seems as if anther memory is made. College stories are great because it finally becomes socially acceptable to say, “we ran from the cops and it was the best experience of our life.” Or the story of “I met a guy here in college and I think I realized why I hated all the ones in high school.” Or maybe your 15 new memories have something to do with joining the sorority that gave you the ability to meet sisters you never had, or frat brothers that showed you who you really are. Maybe your 15 new stories came from a class you took, a party you went to, an outfit you wore, or something you drank. That’s the awesome thing about college nobody really cares to judge, just tell us a good story to make us laugh and forget about our test coming up in the next class – please.

15 New Dreams

College has the ability to expand life’s interest, well hopefully. Yes, some classes are pretty terrible and the only thing keeping you in your seat is class participation points, but let’s be honest not all classes are bad. It seems as if within the first week of college there was a whole new world opened up for me. Dreams, ideas, thoughts came flooding into me as I soaked up the information from the classes I loved and the professors that I absolutely dreamed of being.

15 New Skills

15 new skills come in a variety of ways but it seems as if, without even trying, I learned things I hadn’t known before. The skills one can learn from their freshman year of college can range from the ability to stay up literally all night studying for a test in your 8 A.M class, or maybe holding back someone’s hair really well, perhaps the skill is figuring out which pizza place delivers the fastest, how to actually MLA format a paper correctly, or not cry every time a math problem is set out in front of you. Skills that’ll help you along the way. People skills, critical thinking skills, college throws life at you and somewhere along the way you can actually learn new things. Whatever the skill is that you mastered, be proud of it.

15 New Friends

I was scared to the point of almost petrified because what if I wasn’t going to make any new friends? Little did I know one day into college was all it would take to find incredible people. It may take, like, an entire semester to remember everyone’s names but these people will help in incredible ways. A late night heart to heart in the basement of a “sketchy” house party, or they could be the saving grace that sends you the class notes for the class you missed. Honestly, after the first week whatever anxiety I had left was washed away because of the friends I met at college. So please leave your dorm room open for new people to come in, welcome people to the table, say hi to that fun girl you met at the frat party, or admire that person that seems really smart in one of your classes. It’s college if you’re rejected, move on.

15 New Pounds

Yes, the college freshman literal 15 pounds is OK too. Maybe it’s 5, 10,15, or 20 because someone had too many half-off wings, or maybe thirds at the cafeteria when they were serving cheese noodles. Whatever the reason for the weight gain, stop being so hard on yourself for it. I noticed a T-shirt I wore in HS started to feel a lot less comfortable on my body and I took that as a hint to just get a bigger T-shirt and say goodbye to the person that I was. Sometimes in college, your body grows just as much as your mind does; just keep in mind that there’s always time for a quick stop at the gym.

So how about the next time someone says “Wow! Did you him or her and how they gained "freshman 15”? Give them a response of positivity – “Ya, I really hope they did gain the Freshman 15.”