When I started my freshman year at SFA, I thought I knew exactly what to expect. After all, I'd taken classes throughout my four years of high school. I was basically already a college student! But the honest truth is this: college hit me like a brick wall. Here are fifteen things I have learned in my first few weeks as a freshman.
1. No, you aren't as smart as you think you are.
Let's face it, no matter how many A's you got in high school, college doesn't begin to compare. I made straight A's throughout high school (okay, so I got a B in Spanish), but the second I took my first quizzes/exams in college, I was blindsided. Tests I thought I aced turned out to be a 60 percent. Tests I thought I bombed turned out to be an 80. College logic, ladies and gents.
2. The hardest part of college is finding a parking spot.
I cannot tell you how many times I have stopped and prayed to God that someone would leave campus and let me have their spot. The worst part of it all is in the parking garage. You've been going in circles for twenty minutes, looking for a spot, and someone will pull in front of you. Five seconds later, you are watching them get your spot.
3. I have no idea how the "Freshman 15" is possible.
Seriously, between climbing a dozen flights of stairs and never having enough time between classes to have an actual meal, it has to be impossible. Not to mention that I've downed so much caffeine that my body is on overdrive. I'm pretty sure that's not how it works, but my brain is so fried from all the material I have to remember that it's hard to remember the basics.
4. You must have caffeine.
I don't care what form it's in; whether it be Starbucks, energy drinks, or Smoothie King with added caffeine (yes, it does work), you have to have it. I'm only running off of about four hours of sleep and I have an 8 a.m. today, along with six hours of work. I'm purely running off of the espresso I had this morning.
And if you're one of those people who can naturally run on no sleep, teach me yours ways. Please. I think I might have caffeine in my blood at this point.
5. Piggybacking in the last point, you will rarely ever get a full eight hours of sleep.
I don't know about y'all, but I spend at least every night studying, and it never just takes one hour or less. Whether it's biology, chemistry, or statistics, it keeps me up at night. At one point in late night studying, I became so delirious, I thought the abbreviation T.S. meant Taylor Swift instead of Tissue System. (Thank you, botany!) Not to mention the fact that people had told me teaching others helps you retain the information. Long story short, at one in the morning, I was teaching my sleeping dog about the different cell types.
6. I don't know how to 'adult'.
I can't tell you how many times I have called my mother on the verge of an anxiety attack because I have no idea what's going on. The financial aid office wants this paperwork, I have to participate in this event, and this homework is due but I have absolutely no idea what it's about. The list goes on and on.
7. Yes, it is possible to be that angry at someone just for walking slowly.
I have literally cursed someone out in my head at least 500+ times just for walking at an average pace. At this point, I've learned that I'm the queen of being late (even if I had four hours to get out of the door) and that a normal pace just isn't enough. I don't think I even know what an average pace is anymore (seriously, my friends are always complaining that I'm walking "too fast" when I think I'm walking slowly.)
8. Stress crying is inevitable.
You can always tell when I have a major test coming up, because more than likely, I am sporting the crying Kim K face, and it's never pretty. This isn't even considering the times I've had an eight page paper due and I cried through the last four. Professors think I'm kidding when I say I put my sweat and tears into a good paper.
9. I will never have time to work out.
Props to you if you do, but I barely have time to sleep or eat, so I am most definitely not getting on a treadmill during the week. If, by some chance, I do, don't doubt that I'll have brightly colored note cards in front of me (I know, I'm such a freshman).
10. You will get sick. No matter what.
Between professors stressing the importance of coming to class "no matter what" and the fact that if you miss one day you will be completely lost, everyone is bound to come to class ill. You'll hear them, sniffling and coughing in the quiet classroom. (No shame, that was me in the very second week. I only made it through one week healthy.) You'll also recognize them as the ones who literally do not care whatsoever. They will come to class in baggy pajamas and with their hair looking like a haystack.
11. It is NOT a fashion show.
I barely get any sleep anyway, so I am not going to waste extra time in the morning to look presentable. Props to the girls who still do their makeup and hair, but if I don't wake up looking like a zombie from "The Walking Dead," it's a good day.
12. What's a social life again?
Maybe it's just me, but I cannot begin to count how many times I have said, "No, I'm sorry, I can't go out. I have to study/do homework." It's truly amazing that my friends haven't put my face on a milk carton with the word "MISSING" in bold print above it.
13. Being Greek will save your GPA.
Seriously, this isn't a lame excuse to promote going Greek. I mean, it's awesome and all, and you should do it, but it really does save my GPA. In my sorority, we have a minimum requirement of study hours and sisters that are always willing to help you. Having to keep up with study hours has definitely made me more aware of the time I put in. (Most recently, three hours on one set of chemistry homework.)
14. Your GPA becomes your baby.
It's like becoming a parent to a group of numbers. All of your time is now being consumed by doing things to make sure it prospers. You have to nurse it with good grades.
I just compared being a college student to being a parent. I told you, sleep deprivation is a killer.
15. It's worth it.
No matter how much students may complain about their morning classes and how much studying they have to do, just know that they love it. At least I do.
They always say that high school is the "best four years of your life." They're wrong. High school sucks. College is where you will find a love for your future career, find lifelong friends, and learn the lessons of a lifetime.
