Freshman year of college is an exciting time of transition, new experiences, and gaining some much-needed independence.

But, like any change, it isn't always easy to adjust overnight. I had a wonderful freshman year, and I wouldn't change it for the world, but there are a few things that I would've liked to know in advance of diving in.

As follows are a brief list of some of the tips and reminders that I would give myself if I could take a step back in time to last summer.

1. Stock up on black leggings.

No matter how many pairs you own, it’s not enough. The more you own, the less often you have to do laundry.

2. Don’t buy ANY textbooks in advance.

I did it for both my freshman fall and spring semester and regretted it both times. I literally didn’t once open several of my textbooks, and I could’ve saved myself $200+ by waiting to find out if I actually needed them.

3. You can skip classes, but not to sleep.

Sometimes you have to skip a class to study for another or to write a paper. Don’t feel guilty about skipping if you have a good reason. However, if you start skipping just to let yourself sleep in, that’s a bad habit to fall into that is only going to lead to more missed classes and wasted tuition dollars.

4. No matter how many dining options you have, you will get sick of all of it.

This problem becomes especially evident at the end of the semester when the dining hall starts serving the same 10 meals on repeat.

5. Getting involved is hard.

There are so many campus organizations, but that doesn’t necessarily make it easy to get involved. The options are really overwhelming and it is hard to figure out where to begin or even who to contact to do so.

6. You can rush a sorority, if you want to, and be happy there, regardless of who you are.

As someone who grew up critical of Greek life and went through recruitment on a whim, having such a great sorority experience has been a pleasant surprise.

7. You will realize how much you miss having your own space.

Not being able to be alone whenever you want to is such a struggle for an introvert.

8. You will do poorly on an exam, and you’ll still pass the class.

It sucks every time, but it is inevitable. Sometimes it is the motivation that you need to get your life together before the next exam, and, other times, you’ll barely make it by the skin of your teeth. Either way, the world keeps turning.

9. Do. Your. Laundry. On. A. Schedule.

Pick a day and stick to doing it weekly. Routines are the key to success and, without one, you’ll find yourself doing laundry at 6:00 am on a Tuesday when you realize you have literally nothing remotely clean to wear.

10. Don’t dance around your problems.

When you see everyone else seemingly having the times of their lives, it can be tempting to deny that you have moments where you feel lonely, depressed, or don’t want to get out of bed. Everyone struggles with transitioning to college, even if you don’t see it, so don’t beat yourself up for having moments where you’re down.

11. Call your mom.

She isn’t going to call you for fear of seeming too overbearing, but she wants you to call her. You might only call her when you have a “reason,” but you’ll talk about a lot more than that every time.

12. Do your dishes right after you eat.

If you wait, you won’t do them until there’s a pile. And a smell. Gross, yes, but also honest.

13. You will spend a lot more than you intend to at Target every time.

You don’t realize how expensive toothpaste, toilet paper, and shampoo are until you have to buy them yourself on a regular basis. Suddenly you’ve spent $100 on products that will be gone in less than a week’s time.

14. Bring only the shoes you actually wear.

I brought thirty (thirty) pairs of shoes with me, of which I wore maybe 7-10 on a regular basis. If you think you “have an outfit that you’ll wear them with” but you haven’t worn them with yet, you probably won’t pull it together in the dark before your 8:00 a.m. class. Also, keep the heels to a minimum. Even if you go out three times a week, most of the time you probably won’t be wearing a different pair of heels every night.

15. Your dorm décor will start off looking like a 10, but you’ll be lucky if half of it remains on the wall by the end of the two semesters.

Those string lights will either 1.) break 2.) fall off of the wall and never be hung up again or 3.) you’ll lose interest in turning them on and forget that they exist. Don’t waste a lot of money on cheap dorm trends.

16. Don’t eat in bed.

There will be a spill, regardless of how careful you are. And nothing is worse than changing the sheets on a lofted bed.

17. You don’t have to go out every weekend.

Going out is fun, but, honestly, it’s also kind of overrated. Sometimes you just want to order a pizza and watch some Netflix with friends instead of getting wasted in a sweaty basement. Maybe you pulled two all-nighters that week and you can’t wait to curl up in bed and pass out at 8:00 p.m. on a Friday. Regardless, don’t feel guilty about not having a wild night out every night.

18. Coffee will become an addiction, but, by comparison, it’s definitely not the worst one you could have.

Having Starbucks four times a day will become the norm. Others may judge you and you may even judge yourself, but it won’t kill you. If it makes you happy, and you have the dining points, let caffeine fuel your machine and stay on that study grind.

19. Getting close with people is difficult.

You’ll meet a lot of people and have a lot of “friends,” but most of them are probably just acquaintances. Deep conversations are far and few between, and most everything centers around “having a good time.” There’s nothing wrong with having casual friends, but you will feel lonely at times despite being surrounded by people.

20. Invest in a 6 ft phone charger.

This is a true essential for anyone with a lofted bed.

21. Stock up on toilet paper.

You don’t really have room to store it, but nothing is worse than finding out you don’t have any at 5:00am.

22. The freshman-fifteen isn’t obligatory.

You can and you will actually lose weight in college, so don’t spend too much time worrying about it. You’ll have access to healthy food and walk everywhere.

23. It will fly by.

In the blink of an eye, each semester will be over. What felt so overwhelming when you looked at your syllabus on day one will now be behind you and part of you will have no idea how you got there.

24. You will have regrets, and that’s okay.

We don’t always make the right choices. You’ll drink too much or too little, fail at a dining hall hack that leaves you sick, barely study for a big exam, and do a number of other small disservices to yourself. But you’ll learn from them (or not) and keep going.

25. Say yes to almost everything, but be comfortable with saying no, too.

Saying yes to new experiences is important and sometimes you need to push yourself to do something that you’ll end up really enjoying. But that doesn’t mean every new experience is something you need, want, or should do. Get comfortable with the word “no” and don’t feel ashamed to turn things down when you really don’t think they’re to your benefit.