Throughout my freshman year of college, I kept a list of life lessons and little things that I learned. Even though the list is lengthy, I thought I would share some of the most important things that I learned.

1. Participate in class.

This might seem so obvious, but it is very important to do. If you participate in classes, your professors will get to know you better and you can build great relationships with them and you can possibly use them as references later on. Not only will you get to build relationships with your professors, but if you are an active participant in class, your professors will see that you are working hard and will be more willing to help you out with questions you may have about the course work. Also, if you participate in class, it will help you learn and understand the material so much better!

2. How to confidently go to the bathroom in public (bathrooms).

This might seem a little weird, but trust me, it's a life saver. My freshman year, I shared a bathroom with about 30 other girls, so learning how to not care and just go was a very important skill to have. You learn this skill very fast, by the way. This skill is not only crucial to surviving the dorm's public bathrooms, but it's also important to surviving the public bathrooms around campus.

3. Always make sure to check your email before you go to class.

This might be the most important thing I learned. I can't tell you how many times my roommate and friends of mine went to class only to find out that it was canceled. This is always devastating because you get up early, get ready, go all the way down to lower campus just to see that you didn't have to go to class. It truly is the worst thing that can happen, especially on a Monday. Some professors also send you extra assignments through your email that will be due later that day or the next day, and if you don't do it, sucks to be you. I always checked my email before I got out of bed, before every class, and about 20 other times a day. Always check your email.

4. College friends are the best friends.

I cannot tell you how many amazing people I have met because of college. I had some good friends in high school, and I am still pretty close to them, but I learned so much about friendship in college. I thought I knew what true friendship was, but it wasn't until my freshman year of college that I really found out what it really was. Because you are starting a new journey, you share a special bond with a lot of people. Everyone is just trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives and it can be extremely difficult, so having people there to support you is very important. You might not find your best friends right away, but trust me, it will happen. And when you find those people that you want to spend all day with, they will make your days much more fun and meaningful.

5. You might not do the best first semester.

Because it is your very first semester, you might not do as well as you hoped that you would. I don't want to scare anyone, but the first semester of college can be rough for some people. You are taking many different classes and you have a variety of different professors who all teach and assign things a different way. It will take you some time to figure out what your professors want, but once you figure out how the professors want things to be, it is so much easier. Another reason why you might not do as well as you wanted to is because you have no idea how to actually study. It will take some time to figure out which study technique works best for you, but just try everything that you can. Once you find that study technique that works, use it religiously and it will help you out so much.

6. Try to have a positive attitude and a good mentality.

This is very important to keep in mind. Yes, you will have some days where you completely fall apart, but its okay, because it happens to everyone. It is important to try and stay positive because there can be a lot of things that are going on that make you unmotivated or sad. Try not to let it get to you because it can really affect many things including your school work. If you have a positive attitude, it can really change things around for you.

7. If you don't want to ruin your day, don't check your grades or bank account.

As long as you don't check your bank account, grades, or think too much about how you're feeling, you'll be perfectly fine. This actually does work, but eventually you will need to check your grades and bank accounts and hope not to cringe too much.

8. Scheduling time to worry about things is perfectly fine.

This probably isn't healthy at all, but sometimes you just don't have time to worry about certain things because you have so many different things going on, so you find time later on to worry about it. This happens more than you think, but it worked for me!

9. Save money!

If you are fortunate enough to get a decent refund check from FAFSA or get extra money from scholarships, save it! You'll want to spend it on things that you think you need, don't spend it! I'm not saying not to spend a single cent of it, because you most definitely can, just be very conscious of what you are spending your money on.

10. Don't ever be with a person who talks over a Queen B song.

Whether it's a friend or a significant other, and they talk over Queen B, "tell that boy bye." Seriously though, a person who talks over Bey has some serious issues.

11. You will figure out who you truly are.

It might take the entire year, but you will figure out who you are. Because you are on your own, you will figure out who you really are through the decisions you make and the way you act. You will realize the type of people you want in your life and you will figure out what you truly want. My freshman year opened me up to so many things that I was unaware of, and I am so glad that I figured out who I am as a person. Once you know who you are, life gets a lot easier. I learned a lot my freshman year and I cannot wait to see what these next few years will teach me!