1. When shopping for dorm items only buy the essentials.
Don’t buy anything if you aren’t 100% positive that you’ll use it. You’ll save money and your room won’t be cluttered with useless junk.
2. Don’t bring your entire wardrobe to school.
There isn’t enough room. Dorm rooms are small. Your winter clothes can stay at home until you go home for Thanksgiving.
3. Keep your room clean.
Dust every now and then. If you have a rug, keep it clean. Stay organized. Wash your sheets. You’ll feel much better about yourself and people will want to hang out in your room if it’s clean. Having a clean room also will keep things good between you and your roommate. It’s just better for everyone, trust me.
4. Leave your door open.
Leave your door open as often as possible. It’s a great (and easy) way to make friends.
5. Don’t put off doing laundry.
Everybody does their laundry on the weekends so don’t wait. Especially don’t wait to do it before going home on a break if you aren’t planning on bringing it home for your mom to do. If everyone waits, you’ll never get a washer.
6. Nap whenever you can.
Very soon into your college experience you will learn that sleep is such a precious thing, so you need to get it whenever you can. Even if it’s just a quick 20 minute nap, take it, you’ll thank me later.
7. Don’t always be the first person to go to bed
Yes I just said that sleep is important but it’s okay to lose a couple of hours every now and again. If you’re friends with a group of night owls, you’ll miss out on some adventures. Some of my best memories at college were made at 2 in the morning.
8. Money is precious.
Spend it wisely – you will eventually run out.
9. Go out and have some fun every now and again.
College is hard. Reward yourself by doing something fun. It doesn’t even have to be going out on the weekends – go on a hike, go bowling with some friends, see a movie.
10. Respect your roommate.
You and your roommate don’t have to be best friends, but you do need to respect them and their things. Always ask before borrowing something or having a guest over.
11. The food isn’t going to be like the meals your mom cooked for you at home.
Dining hall food is never food you would eat at a five star restaurant – well at least not until open house. Eating the same salad all the time, to avoid the food that’s not so appetizing, gets old. Yeah every now and again they’ll have some delicious buffalo chicken wraps, but that’s not often. So take advantage of the food when you go home and can eat your mom’s home cooked meals again.
12. You don’t have to text your friends from home every day to stay friends with them.
A simple “Hey, how are you?” text every now and then will do just fine. You and your high school besties will still be good friends without needing to keep in constant contact.
13. Don’t forget about your family.
Yes going away to school is an exciting and new experience but don’t forget about the ones who helped you get there. Send a text or make a call at least once a week. They may not say it, but I promise they miss you.
14. It’s okay to miss home.
I’ll be the first to admit it – I was more than ready to leave home and go off to college. After orientation ended, everything calmed down and I had a chance to think I realized how much I missed everything I thought I never would.
15. Make sure you’re enjoying yourself – you’re only a college freshman once.
If something is making you unhappy, get it out of your life. Being happy is the most important thing.
