August 18th feels like yesterday, if I'm being honest. It doesn't feel like four months since I've been at school, and I definitely can't believe that my first semester of college is over. A lot happened during this semester too. I made new friends, I realized the kind of people I wanted to be around (and didn't want to be around), I learned new things, I tried new foods, I started listening to different kinds of music, I developed different study habits and different ways to do my homework, I learned how to think differently and I learned what it was like to be a college student. I have a long way to go before graduation though, and I know I’ll learn a lot more along the way. I still have 7 more semesters have memories to make, classes to take, things to learn, majors to declare, tests to stress over, people to meet and things to do. But nothing will ever be as memorable as my first semester here at school, and I don’t think that the things I learned during these last 14 weeks are things that I could have learned anywhere else. So here are ten things that I learned this semester, and I hope that I take these with me through the rest of my journey

1. It is possible to wake up at 8:05 for your 8:30.

Probably the most important thing I’ve learned all semester is that there is a way to get up 25 minutes before your first class. You may have to skip an actual breakfast and your normal makeup routine, and you may be wearing the same pajama shirt you wore to bed with leggings underneath that, but it is possible to wake up and be on time to class.

2. It’s important to pay attention in class.

I really, really, really don’t like Economics. I can see how there are some things that people find interesting about it, but it just has not peaked my interest. Because of that, I spent the first few weeks of Economics on my computer, browsing around the internet or doing other work or simply talking to friends. I realized that this wasn’t smart when I saw the results of my first exam. That’s when I knew that I had to step up my game and start paying attention in class. I put my phone away, shut my computer off and started taking detailed notes and actually listening. That’s when I realized that I could actually understand Economics and when I did significantly better on my second test, I realized the value of paying attention in class. College isn’t like high school, I can’t skim by doing the bare minimum and barely paying attention in class. If I wanted the grade, I was going to have to actually try in class.

3. It’s important to sleep and eat right.

College is tiring, and if there’s one thing I learned over this past semester is that if I don’t sleep, I really screw myself over. I realized that it was important to manage my time to get as much sleep as I possibly can each night. And yes there were some nights where there really was no going to bed before 4 AM, but the nights where I could actually sleep instead of spend 5 hours on Netflix, I should sleep. I also learned that a decent diet instead of ice cream for dinner every night will give me the energy to keep going when I need it most, and will help keep the freshman 15 away too.

4. Missing home is more than normal, but it’s also okay to let go a little bit. In fact, you should let go a little bit.

I miss home. There is no denying that I miss my parents, I miss my friends, I miss my high school, I miss the memories that I made at home, I miss the late night driving my friends and I would do with the sunroof open and the radio blasting, I miss the local food and I miss knowing where everything was. And while I realized that it’s okay to miss all of that, it’s also important to move on and let go a little bit. While Chappaqua will always be my home, Villanova is my new home. It’s time to make new memories, meet new people, get comfortable somewhere else. I realized that if I ever wanted to grow and change at school, that I should let go of home a little bit. If I cling to my home life, I won’t ever be able to fully appreciate the life that I have at Villanova, and I won’t ever be able to grow into the person I’m supposed to be

5. Everything isn’t as it seems.

Social media is a wonderful thing. It allows us to share only what we want others to see. So we post pictures on Facebook and Instagram of us at a party with a pretty filter on it, we post pictures of us at a sporting event or homecoming or tailgating. We only post pictures to make it look like we’re having a great time at school and that we’ve made so many new friends. But nobody posts or talks about how they feel as if they didn’t make the right friends, or if they don’t like their roommate, or if they’re struggling to keep up with the school work. So while you may feel like you’re the only person who’s struggling at school at first, you aren’t. You just don’t see it because it’s not something people want to advertise to the public; you aren’t in alone in your feelings and everyone is feeling a little bit sad or stressed about college in general. I realized that it’s important to not read to much into things and take them at face value, and that no matter what people post, everyone is struggling a little bit.

6. College is not like it appears to be in movies, but that’s okay.

Elle Woods made me really excited to go to college. Her pretty housing with her perfect friends and cute boyfriend and fabulous social life along with her ability to get into law school made it seem like college was perfect. And there is no denying that I’ve had some pretty fun times at school and made some really great friends. But I learned that college is not like the movies and that’s okay. You may hate your classes, you may not find your best friends right away, you may not get along with your roommate, you may discover you don’t like to party but that’s okay. By college not being picture perfect, it allows you to grow and learn and if we’re being honest, that’s what we came to school for anyway.

7. Be responsible; create a good balance between work and play.

I want to have fun 24/7. Honestly. I would love to always go to parties or the mall or out to eat or just hang out with my friends. But I can’t. Because if I want to keep my grades up and accomplish great academic things, I sometimes have to pick school. I learned that this wasn’t a fun decision to make, and the first few times I really struggled to make the right choice, but I’m glad I learned how to make this decision and understand how much time I need for all my work because now I know how to balance my time between work and play, and I can have fun when I want to but I also have the ability to stay in and finish that 10 page paper.

8. It’s important to take a break sometimes.

College is stressful and hard and tiring and it’s more than necessary to take breaks. From dancing around the lounge to my favorite Disney songs, to just wasting time on social media as a form of relaxation, I realized that I need to take some time to take a break. It’s not healthy to constantly push myself to always be doing work and I need to have fun and relax.

9. Meet as many people as you can.

I met a lot of people my first few weeks here, and back then I didn’t think it was a big deal, but now I’m glad I did. It has given me plenty of people to have lunch with or hang out with on the weekend, and I realized that it’s important to know tons of people. Because not only will it give you the chance to make some really great friends, the more people you know will know in your classes and it’s always nice to have friends in your classes when you miss a day or you have a group project or partner assignment to do.

10. It’s important to be yourself-no matter who that is.

I learned a lot these past few months. Really I did. But I think the biggest, most important thing I learned is that it’s important to be yourself. I’ve met a lot of people during my time here. I also know that I made my friends by being myself, which is why I’m happy with the people that I’ve become friends with. They’re people whose company I truly enjoy and who I know that I can feel comfortable around and trust. I know that if I wasn’t myself, I probably would have made very different friends and realized that I wasn’t comfortable around them rather quickly. I realized that it’s also important to be yourself because college is daunting and scary and you can get lost and swept up in it all pretty quickly. Being yourself gives you a way to stay grounded and keep your core values while everything around you changes. If you aren’t a partier, fine. If you’re a hard worker, don’t cover it up. If you like to sing, don’t hide your talent. If you’re into sports, sign up for as many as you can. If you like to read, take out as many books from the library as possible. I learned that it’s important to not feel ashamed of yourself. Because by being yourself, I realized that you’ll allow yourself to sign up for clubs that interest you and meet people that you connect with, and do things that you’ll actually enjoy. You’ll find some of the best friends you’ll ever have by being yourself and together you can experience everything.