College is a place where most people go to learn about the things they will need to know in whatever career path they have chosen for themselves. We end up learning so much more. We learn about ourselves and others and how to function on our own and be apart of society. Here are some things that I learned in my first year of college that you won't find in your textbooks.
1. Everyone is just as scared as you are on the first day.
Everyone is nervous on their first day of orientation up until about the middle of the second week of classes. It's a given. So, don't think that you're the only one who's freaking out.
2. The people who you're friends with at the beginning of the year are not the people you’ll be friends with at the end of the year.
This is sad, but true. At the beginning of the year people just kind of cling to whomever they sat next to in their first class or their roommate. This is helpful because at first you feel really alone and scared so it's nice to have a couple of friends, even if you don't have anything in common with them. These friends go away. Whether it's through an argument or just drifting apart these will almost definitely not be the same people you'll hang out with at the end of the year. You'll always have acquaintances in times when your real friends aren't there, though.
3. Staying out all night on a school night is one of the worst decisions you can make.
One of the most exciting things about college is being away from home. Being away from home means not having your parents tell you that you can't go to McDonald's at 3 A.M. just because you're craving a hash brown. Naturally, all of us spend the first couple weeks of college running around at obscure hours of the night just because we can. You will soon learn that this is not worth the exhaustion you'll face in class the next day, it's best to just do your homework and go to bed at a reasonable hour on school nights.
4. If you wash all your clothes in one load on cold, it’s the same as washing them separately.
If your dorm charges you for each load of laundry it can add up pretty quickly. There's not enough quarters to wash each separate fabric or color in different loads of wash. Sometimes we get desperate and we have to wash our whites with our darks, but it's OK, because if you wash your clothes in cold water, everything turns out normal! You now have clean clothes and enough quarters for a couple extra laundry days! It's a win-win.
5. How to make creative lunches out of snack foods.
Times are tough. There's often not enough time or energy to make lunch or money to go out and buy lunch, so you learn to get creative. We’ve all sat in our dorm and eaten a four-course meal of fruit snacks, chips, and Goldfish crackers. Don't worry, you'll survive.
6. How to effectively manage time.
Time management is probably one of the most important things you need to have in college. This is the part where we have to give up watching Netflix to do homework, and eventually decide which homework we need to spend more time on. This became pretty clear to me after a couple of weeks. You also have to figure out when to sleep and eat and shower and do all the other things that you never thought you'd need to schedule out before going to college. Eventually, you'll work out a specific schedule that allows you to do everything that you need to do. Stick to it!
7. Sometimes it's OK to relax for a little bit.
Schoolwork can become super overwhelming and take a toll on both your physical and mental health. You have to learn to recognize when this is happening and be self aware enough I take a step back and relax for a little bit. Taking a chill pill once in a while can be just as important anything else that college has to throw at you. Take some time for yourself, take a walk, take a nap, do something to help you refocus and relax.
8. It's OK to ask for help sometimes.
Asking for help seems kind of silly sometimes because we think that we’re in college and we’re supposed to have everything figured out. This is not true, at all. We’re in college but we’re still learning and we’re still students. Asking for help might seem embarrassing sometimes but there's usually always someone there who is willing to help you or at least talk to you when things get super overwhelming. Take advantage of this!
9. How to find cheap entertainment.
Cheap entertainment is basically going to be your main source of entertainment. I go to school in New York City, so there's almost always something to do. The issue is that it's not always the cheapest. There's student discounts to almost anything you can think of, whether it's a Broadway show or a museum. Outdoor activities like walking in the park are always free and exciting. My friends have found websites and apps that tell them where free or inexpensive things are going on.
10. Spending all your money on fast food sounds great, but is actually awful.
If you're not making a creative lunch out of snacks you might be buying fast food for every meal. I think that I did this for my first three months of college, and I still struggle with it a lot. Fast food is so easy and tastes so good, but spending all of your money on Chipotle will be your biggest regret you think about when you lay your head on your pillow every night.
11. When one of your friends is sick, all of your friends are sick.
The cool thing about college friends is that you treat each other like you've known each other for forever, even if you've only known each other for a couple of months. There's been times this year where my friends or I have been sick and one of us has had to run to the store to get medicine for the other. Your friends will also take you to the hospital, the doctor, urgent care, take a cab with you to school when you're injured. Basically, when one person is sick, the rest of you are sick, too. This is one of the coolest things about college because you never feel like you're all alone if you have good friends.
12. Money management.
Managing your money is arguably the most difficult thing about college. I think this goes back to the fact that usually your parents aren't there to tell you not to buy that outfit from the vintage store that you're never going to wear anyway. Learn to spend your money in a responsible way that isn't going to leave you broke at the end of the week. I still struggle with this one.
13. How to block out the noise of annoying neighbors.
For some reason, there's always going to be someone who feels it necessary to sing or scream or tap dance at 3 A.M. At first this is annoying and might keep you up at night, but after a while, you become immune to it. Don't let it bother you too much, because at some point in our college life, we’re also this person.
14. Celebrating holidays with your friends is almost as fun as celebrating them with your family.
If you go far away for college, you probably will miss a holiday or two. This is a little depressing at first but if you have friends who are also staying on campus for the holiday you can celebrate with them. There's going to be a restaurant that's open, so treat yourself! Get brunch, go to a parade, get dressed up and have a fancy dinner, go see a movie. Do something to celebrate or else you'll regret it.
15. No one is going to tell you to blend your foundation if you forgot.
