Your freshman year of college is daunting, exciting, and, most of all, arguably the best year of your life to date. Here are some words of advice to make it a little easier:
1. You will be homesick. It's natural, and it goes away.
2. Your dorm room will probably be sub-par, but enough pillows, a great mattress pad, and some great friends can make it feel like home.
3. Save up as much money as you can before you get to college, and make sure to prioritize budgeting once you get to school.
4. You don't really need school supplies other than a notebook, calculator, pen, and pencil.
5. You will think about your friends from home a lot, and it is definitely possible not to lose touch with them.
6. Get to know your professors and actually go to office hours.
7. Get to know the people on your floor. Odds are, some of them will become your best friends.
8. Don't be afraid to confront your roommate if he/she does something that makes you upset or uncomfortable.
9. Make sure to only pick one or two things to get involved with at first. It is easy to overload yourself.
10. Going Greek has a ton of benefits, but it isn't for everyone. Still, you might as well go through recruitment/rush to see if it is for you.
11. Your parents might seem annoying the summer before you leave, but you are really going to miss them. So, make sure to spend as much time with them as possible.
12. Take advantage of everything the new place you live in has to offer and be sure to get off campus every once in a while.
13. It is important to make sure you have some alone time away from roommates, friends, and all the chaos.
14. FOMO is all too real, but the truth is, if you don't go out one night, you probably won't miss anything.
15. You don't need to go out Thursday-Saturday every week.
16. Don't be afraid to seek help from student health or counseling services. Freshman year is hard for everyone, and you aren't alone.
17. Your mom is always a phone call away.
18. Make sure to drink a lot of water and make healthy food choices.
19. Establish priorities early on, and make school the main one.
20. Take chances and put yourself out there.
Freshman year will be over before you know it, so make sure to make it the best year yet.
