After being here for almost a semester, I've already learned so much and experienced such new things. While it was bittersweet coming to campus originally, it's purely sweet now. There will be good days and bad days but overall, these four years of your life will be the best years. You will make mistakes, but you'll learn from them and it will be worth it. The 15 most important things I've learned so far are:
1. The library is your best friend.
You will spend most of your time at college here whether it's until late hours of the night or early hours of the morning, while you are stuck cramming for a test or trying to finish a paper due the next day.
2. You’re always sick.
Your friends get sick, then you get sick because you're always around people, and then it's a never-ending cycle. Use hand sanitizer always and don't go to the campus health center- it will take forever and they will tell you that you are fine even if you are dying.
3. Don’t give away your trust so easily.
You just met everyone for the first time, so even if you think they are your friends, wait a little bit until you know you can actually trust them.
4. Campus really isn’t that big.
At first, compared to high school, a college campus looks huge, resembling a whole town. But after the first month, you will know your way around and it will still feel like a town but you will be more comfortable and it will seem smaller.
5. Don’t stop making new friends
Even when you think you have found your friend group, don't stop making new friends. Especially when you go to a big school, you will meet new people every day and there's really no limit as to how many friends you can have, which is honestly such a crazy thing.
6. The “Freshman 15” is real.
Whether you decide to eat out every night or eat food from the dining hall (which isn't even that healthy no matter what you get), you will gain weight. It is so important to go to the gym and work out at least once a week because the Freshman 15 is so real.
7. Game Days are the best days.
If you go a Big Ten school, you can relate. Waking up early going to tailgates, going to the game (probably for no more than 20 minutes), then going to post games at the frats. It's a lot and you will definitely need a nap after, but it's so worth it.
8. Frat parties are fun yet miserably hot.
As soon as you step into the frat, you will feel suffocated and immediately start sweating (even if its 40 degrees outside). The proper attire to frats is always shorts or jeans and a tank top, no matter how cold it is outside because you are always guaranteed to break a sweat. But once again, you dance the night away with your friends so you won't really mind the heat by the end of the night.
9. You will go broke very easily.
Between going out with your friends, ordering food, "ubering" everywhere, and online shopping, your bank account will experience a dramatic decrease your first semester. But don't forget you still have another semester, so try to budget your money.
10. You will know when you find the right friends.
After a couple weeks, you will know that the people you have been hanging out with are the ones for you. You're completely different yet the same and that's why you connect with them so well. You will have a feeling about them and know that they're here for the long run.
11. Don’t procrastinate.
You'll always end up procrastinating even when you say you won't. You will try to plan your time the week before and attempt to study early but you know despite everything you try, you will wait until the last possible day to study.
12. You don’t have to go out every night.
If you try going out during the week and going out the typical Thursday- Saturday nights, you won't make it. You have to pace yourself. If you are tired- don't go out, if you have a lot of work- don't go out. There will always be someone you know who will study with you or be down for a movie night so definitely take advantage of that and don't push yourself too much.
13. Keep in touch with your high school friends.
You called them your best friends for a reason, so you will stay best friends if you meant it. You won't talk every day because you all will be so busy, but those weekly FaceTimes mean the world and as they update you about their college lives, it was like you never left.
14. Call your parents back.
Call you parents. They will not be very happy if you go more than a week without talking to them. Because don't forget a few short months ago, they were used to seeing and talking to you every single day.
15. This will be the best four years of your life.
Make the most of every day. Cherish these 4 years of your life because every second is so valuable. Yes, have fun but remember, you go to college for an education so don't let that slip away. College is a completely different lifestyle than high school, but trust me, it is so much better. And pretty soon, these four years will be over and you will be graduating so take advantage of every moment because I know I will be.
