Time has gotten the best of me again, as I am astounded that nearly an entire year has passed since I graduated high school. My freshman year of college has officially concluded, and I would never have imagined that I’d be here right now. It has definitely been an adventure, but freshman year didn’t come and go without an abundance of learning experiences.
1. Have patience; things don’t fall into place all at once.
College is a bigger playing field in contrast to high school. Chances are you won’t know anybody, and if you’re a commuter like me, you won’t have a roommate to lean on. Making friends isn’t easy, and sometimes I felt pretty lonely. But I had to accept that things are still adjusting, and if I give it time, I’ll eventually find my place. Slowly but surely, I began to make friends that made my freshman year so much more vibrant — all it took was some time.
2. Letting go of bad habits from high school is not easy.
I definitely do not believe that good grades come easily in high school, but college is kind of on a different wavelength. I used to be able to skip readings in high school and procrastinate on a lot of my assignments. College was a tough wake-up call. With the endless readings I had, usually followed by pop quizzes, I couldn’t skip out on looking at the material anymore. Waiting write a paper or studying for a test in college is self-sabotaging, and you’ll definitely end up regretting it. I had to find the strength to let go of my bad habits from high school, and beating procrastination was a whole other mountain to climb. In all honesty, I’m still learning.
3. But college is more than just grades.
I was fortunate to go to seminars where alumni would come to give advice to students, and my professor pointed out that none of them said a single thing about getting straight A’s. College is a whole lot of trial and error, and you might not always get the best grades. My GPA for my freshman year was a lot lower than what I was used to, and I didn’t take it lightly at first. But my school places a lot of emphasis on being involved beyond the classroom, such as betting internships and studying abroad. With that, I know I have time to raise my GPA if need be, and that there are other ways of enriching my learning experience.
4. It’s okay to be alone.
I had been used to being around my friends every single day for the past few years, whether it be walking to class or getting lunch together. But everyone has different schedules in college, and it isn’t very plausible to believe that you’ll never be alone. Eating lunch by myself made me nervous at first, but when I looked around the dining hall, I saw that so many others were doing it as well. College is draining, and sometimes you need that alone time to recharge or catch up on work so you can be at your absolute best.
5. Be vehement about your passions.
When I came into college, I had a deep-rooted love for writing but never planned to really do anything with it. But when I came across all these opportunities to apply something I loved so much into my everyday life, I couldn’t just turn them down. Being able to impact people with my writing reignited my passion for it, and I realized that as long as I was doing what I loved, I was making the right choices.
6. The noble art of self-discipline.
In college, there is not much accountability in terms of attendance and doing well academically. Your professor is not going to call your mom and tell her that you missed class on Tuesday, so it is your responsibility to make the effort. If you want to be successful, you have to drag your butt out of bed and get to that 8 AM, even if you feel it’s not necessary.
7. It’s okay to not know what you want to do yet.
I’ve met people who didn’t even settle on a major until their senior year, and they still graduated in four years. You might switch up on your career choices multiple times throughout your college career, and that’s okay. What matters is that you don’t settle for something that you don’t really enjoy and that you learn from the experience of indecisiveness.
8. You’ll appreciate your high school friends more.
Although I commute, I would go long periods of time without seeing my high school friends who go to different schools. Whether they were only ten minutes or hours away, I definitely kept them in my heart and mind all of the time. I realized how blessed I was to have such genuine, long-lasting friendships and it made getting the opportunity to see them so much better.
9. But you’ll appreciate your college friends, too.
People who attend your college come from all walks of life, and they have their own experiences to offer you. It is incredibly fulfilling to know people who share the same passions as you, even if they grew up somewhere completely different. It’s like meeting a soul mate, and they are the kind of people you want to keep in your life.
10. Getting out of your comfort zone is crucial
Join a fraternity or club that satisfies or interests you. Talk to that person who sits behind you in class. Try something new in the dining hall. College is supposed to be a learning experience that is extremely pivotal to self-growth, so make the most of it out and try new things.
11. There is no “right way” to do college
You might have this preconceived notion that college is supposed to be the best time of your life, and you might be disappointed sometimes. Freshman year is rough. College is rough. You’ll miss your friends and you’ll feel overwhelmed by your schoolwork and your finances. You might feel like you’re doing it all wrong and that you’re wasting your time. I definitely felt unsure about my choices and it began to depress me a lot in the beginning of the year. But I learned that there is no right way to do college, that my experience is completely unique and molded to myself. It’s a test of your resilience for sure, but you’ll only come out stronger and wiser in the end.
12. You will change, for the better.
I didn’t completely notice how this past year has changed me until recently, when one of my high school friends pointed it out. I look at pictures of my high school self and even though a lot of her worries were silly, she was incredibly happy. My priorities have completely shifted and I definitely had to let go of a lot of things that were close to my heart. Finding that happiness again wasn’t easy, but I learned from it. The struggles I’ve gone through have made me a whole lot more realistic, but I also maintain the optimism of my high school self. With a solid heart and a more mature mindset, the future looks so promising, and I’m looking forward to what comes next.
