This summer, as I approached moving into college, I was extremely excited, probably a little too excited. The week of, I tried to keep calm and keep my expectations at a somewhat normal level so I wouldn't have too high of expectations and be disappointed. As long as I'm being honest, I don't think those expectations were ever lowered, but fortunately, they were still very much exceeded. As I look back after being here for a few weeks, I realize how I learned SO much during my first week, and not just academically, but also socially and even in regards to my health.
1. Dining hall food really isn't that horrible.
I'm lucky enough to have 4 dining halls and plenty of other on-campus options at Baylor University, and in all honesty, the dining hall food has been great so far. Sure, there are definitely some dining halls that are better than others, and some days that are better than others, but overall, I love the convenience of a dining hall and the options I've had so far.
2. Go to EVERY Welcome Week event.
My Welcome Week group, which was a team of about 15 freshman students and 2 upperclassmen leaders was SO much fun. There were so many events on campus, and it was great to make my way into the social scene with such a fun group. Trust me, you're bound to find someone in your Welcome Week group with a similar interest, or the same major, or even someone who's heard about your hometown. It's an exciting bonding experience like no other.
3. Upperclassmen are not at all scary, or really that different from you (they are still your peers).
I didn't really think about this one too much before I came to college, but the first week, I heard a multitude of freshman say that they were afraid of the upperclassmen. I personally have found that upperclassman are just like any other freshman student, just with maybe a few more years of college experience. Especially if you're in the same class, everyone is equal, so there's absolutely no reason to be nervous or feel as if you can't befriend someone because they're in a different year!
4. Drink water & take your vitamins.
AND SLEEP! A short but annoying, sniffly sick spell one weekend has made me realize how precious sleep, water, vitamins, and a healthy diet are. Take vitamins every day, keep a water bottle with you always, eat your greens, and try to get around 6-7 hours of sleep each night if possible.
5. Read the syllabus. And mark EVERYTHING in your calendar/planner.
So many tests! Each of my classes have so many of their own papers and tests and assignments and it's so easy to forget them all. I went through each of the syllabi, marked everything in my daily planner, and also added big tests onto my whiteboard by my desk in my dorm. It's a great visual way to prepare for what lies ahead.
6. Don't let yourself fall behind.
With so much reading, so many assignments, tests, quizzes, and more, it is so incredibly easy to fall behind in your schoolwork, especially if your professor doesn't collect/count your homework for points. I've found that it's especially difficult to fall behind in reading, especially if a teacher is going to lecture on the same material the next day (it's easy to blow it off!), but you never know when there will be a pop quiz or discussion in class on the homework that was assigned the night before!
7. Take at least an hour of the day for yourself and do your own thing, but don't forget to squeeze in an hour with friends, as well.
My first few weeks of school, I found this to be very difficult. In high school, I had great friends, but because we all went back to our own homes and sports and clubs at the end of the day, it was harder to hang out all the time. My group of friends all reside in the same dorm, so it's easy to want to hang out with everyone all the time, but you really need to squeeze in time for yourself. I have found that I study much better when I'm alone because my friends and I distract each other with fun conversation. I realized I have to prioritize time to work by myself, but still take an hour to join up with them later.
8. Exercise!
You've probably heard this a million times already, but exercise is SO important when you're in college, not just as a preventative measure for the "Freshman 15" but also because it's a great stress relief. I found when I was really anxious about my schoolwork, even if I had a giant pile on my desk, going running for at least 30 minutes actually made me more productive and cleared my head. It's so easy to spend 30 minutes or even an hour on your phone or on Netflix, so why not take that time to exercise instead? Many college campuses offer free workout classes and every campus has a gym and a campus to run on, so put them to use!
9. Take advantage of every time you see a puppy/dog on campus.
This is a very serious one (LOL), but especially if you miss your dog back home, take a second to pet every dog you see around campus. Our faculty-family, or the family who lives in my residential college at Baylor, is always walking their dog around campus, and a lot of students who live off-campus usually bring their dogs around too.
10. Free food is everything!
When you're in college, who wants to pay for food when there's so many opportunities to find it for free? I feel like every weekend there's some kind of event going on around campus, and they always seem to come with free food. In all honesty, you probably could attend a different club meeting every weeknight and get a dinner along with it if you really wanted!
College was so much like I thought it would be, but also so very different. Overall, taking advantage of every positive opportunity for anything on campus has very much made the experience of my first few weeks so much more full than I could have ever thought.
