10. Be frugal with money
I feel like this is pretty self-explanatory. I learned this lesson the hard way this past semester. With three days left in the semester, I only had $13 left on my meal plan, and no money left in my bank account. (I'm sorry mom and dad!) If there was one lesson that I learned throughout my first semester that will be useful after I've graduated college and actually have a real job, it would probably be this one. Toward the beginning of last semester, I just spent money on random things and never really thought about how it would affect me later on. I now know how to save money and budget for the things I really want to do! It's just a lesson that really can't be taught, but must be learned.
9. Join a few of the on-campus activities and clubs, I promise they're not weird!
Any college campus you go to, there is always something going on. This is exciting and a little bit annoying at the same time. I was always the person to stay back and away from the fun things that the campus was offering when I should've been right there jumping in and immersing myself in a new experience. For example, one time there was a day on Auburn's green space where you could rent puppies for an hour and play with them. I really have no idea why I wasn't all over that because I am obsessed with dogs and puppies are my weakness, but I didn't and I regret moments like those so much.
This next semester I'm definitely going to be attending all sporting events and games (and maybe even a few gymnastics meets) to try to get more involved on campus and with clubs. There are so many opportunities out there-it's not hard to try new things! (Plus most of the games and activities are free, which makes it so much more fun!) To the same degree, stand up for what you believe in, too! If you are passionate about making a change in the world or on your campus, go for it! I took the time last semester to have conversations with people who I didn't necessarily agree with and it made me such a more well-rounded person. I understood the views of others and could adjust my take on conversations or my view of the world accordingly.
8. Take time to do something nice for other people
This is so important! It makes such a difference in your life and the life of a friend or stranger when you do something nice for them. It's so easy in college to go through your whole day or time at your school just keeping to yourself and not really thinking about others. I know it really makes my day when I'm riding in the elevator of my dorm and someone strikes up a conversation with me about something – no matter how random. I catch myself looking at my phone a lot of the time and not making conversation because I feel too awkward. It's so rewarding to do something nice for others or have people do something nice for you! It makes the world happier!
7. Sometimes you will get sad, it's okay and totally normal
This is a reality that I feel like a lot of people in college are really afraid of talking about because there's some social stigma that you can't be unhappy with your life. I think that is totally and completely wrong! I can remember several times this semester where I wanted to bawl my eyes out and go home to my dog and my family, but I mustered up the courage and dealt with whatever I had to deal with. I feel like this applies to people who go to out-of-state schools. Throughout all of high school, I was the person telling everyone I was looking forward to go to school so far up North, like Wisconsin or Minnesota, and that I was excited to be getting out of my hometown.However, I realized that even from one state over, I really miss the comfort of the things I knew and that were so normal to me for so long. (Pro tip to Seniors now: enjoy and bask in the moments you have left at home and with your friends because it really sucks once it's gone.)
Sometimes I get flustered or frustrated with the way college life is, and that's something that a lot of other students go through. That doesn't mean that I don't love my school or being a college student. In fact, I'm in love with Auburn and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world (see number six for more information on this subject). Just today before I wrote this article I was scrolling through my Facebook feed on my phone and came up on an article that one of my friends had shared to their timeline about "Mall Santa tells Boy, it's okay He Has Autism" and I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I didn't even read the article or open the link, but I was still tearing up. I kept scrolling down my feed and saw another shared article that read, "What Would You Say to Loved Ones Who've Passed" and I started crying in the student center.
6. School spirit is a beautiful thing
As I mentioned before in number five, I love my school! Honestly, I have so much love for Auburn and I don't care who knows it! This is so important when trying to pick a school to go to
This place is so great and it has brought me so many new opportunities with studying and social aspects. I have enjoyed yelling "War Eagle" at the top of my lungs in the middle of Jordan-Hare Stadium. While this past football season wasn't the most rewarding or pleasing one, it doesn't matter because I still love my school! The Auburn Pride is real and alive y'all! If you have never felt this way or are looking for a college right now, to make sure this is a factor in your decision or to find something about your school that makes you passionate to be there!
5. Studying should be a top priority
This is another thing I had to learn the hard way. I always believed that studying was important throughout all of high school but I never really understood how to do it well. I also was fortunate enough to kind of float by in high school without really doing much work in my classes to get a good grade. This is not the cast in college! I thought last semester would be my easy semester and boy was I wrong. I learned that it's okay to put studying and school work before your social life, and sometimes it is necessary. I know that this semester I'm going to have to buckle down and complete my studies and school work before I can do anything fun, because that's really what you're here for in college: to get an education.
4. Take road trips like nobody's business!
There have been some amazing places that I was lucky enough to visit last semester that I probably wouldn't have visited otherwise. It was so much fun being able to see different places around the country with my friends. highly recommend taking any weekend or long break and getting a group together to go on a road trip because you make the best memories that way!
3. Don't take yourself too seriously. Don't follow someone else's version of life
This one kind of speaks for itself. I learned last semester that I am a goofy person who loves to post nasty selfies of myself on Insta. I really learned how to not care what people thought of me and to just be myself. You will find friends in college who love you for you and cherish your goofy, sarcastic personality because it makes you who you are! The second part of this lesson was another one I had to figure out for myself. Toward the beginning of last semester, I really didn't know what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be when I got to college.
For a while, I thought I wanted to copy the "college norm" and be a partier and typical sorority girl who gets drunk on the weekend and hops from frat house to frat house. I soon realized that that was not pleasing or rewarding to me. I was just trying to please everyone else and be accepted by people I didn't even know. This is something that I had to realize was not truthful to myself and the way I wanted to spend my college years: not remembering things and having "pretend fun". So I stopped doing that and instead surrounded myself with a great core group of friends who love Jesus and want to pursue Him in everything. This let me be my true self and I was able to develop friendships that will last a lifetime!
2. It's okay to say "no" sometimes, but it's also so rewarding to say "yes"
Okay, yes, I realize this does sound a little contradicting, but I think it's true. I learned this past semester that I can say "no" to things. In high school, I was always afraid of feeling left out because I was looking for acceptance in everything. In college, it's so different because there really is something going on at all times so you never have to feel left out, you just have to prioritize the things that are important to you. But when you can say "yes" to things, it gives you an opportunity to step outside your comfort zone- or even just to create lasting memories with friends.
1. Surround yourself with friends who encourage you to be the best version of yourself and bring you closer to Jesus.
Finally, the last and most important thing I learned last semester! I am so thankful for all the blessings I got to experience last semester at Auburn and all the friendships I made. It's so cool to look back on this time and see who really made an impact on my life because you don't realize it in the moment, but those things really change you! I have found so many groups of friends to lean on in the hard times, to celebrate with in the good times, and to love (and who love me) all the time. Thank you, Kappa for giving me sisters who have my back and want to see me succeed. Thank you, Young Life for introducing me to people who encourage me and challenge me but give me some of the best laughs I've ever had in my entire life. I can't wait to see where the rest of this semester takes me!
