The dining hall closes at 8 p.m., all professors hold office hours and your dorm room door will lock behind you when you go to the bathroom. These are all lessons you’ll learn while away at college, most likely within the first two weeks. In this article, I’m talking about the more important lessons that not everybody learns during their first year.
1. Your Relationship.
It’s very difficult to let go of high school and having a boyfriend doesn't make it any easier. However, from my experience, it’s much easier to go through your first year without one. Breaking things off won’t be an easy task, but I think every high school couple should give it a chance. It’s more mature to let your significant other go out into the world and experience college instead of worrying about what’s going on at their significant other's school, who they're talking to or worse. As cliché as it sounds, if it’s meant to be, it will be. I loved meeting new people and not feeling guilty about anything. College is the time to see what types of people you get along with and want to be around.
2. Your Friends at Home
Some people are extremely attached to their friends at home and can’t imagine leaving them. Other people are ready for a change and excited to meet new people. After one year at college, I realized you never want to cut ties with anybody. People mature and grow during their first year and all the silly high school drama seems to fade away. You grew up with your friends from home and share endless inside jokes with them. They probably know more about you than anyone and have been there for you in the worst of times. After living away from them for a year, you’ll be so excited to be together for the summer and to share all your college stories with them.
3. Your Hometown
Your hometown will always have a very special place in your heart. There’s the playground you went to as a kid, your favorite coffee place, and of course, your house! Your hometown shaped you into the person you are today. Leaving it behind won’t be easy, but there’s always a place for you there. Returning home for the first time is an indescribable feeling, it’s weird knowing life went on without you. An even better feeling is when you say, “I’m ready to go home,” and you realize you’re referring to your college. It’s the best of both worlds — two different places filled with people and things you love.
4. Your Friends at College
I can really see how your college friends become your life-long friends. You wake up, walk in the hallway and are surrounded by the same friendly faces every day. Everyone who lived on my floor at college became extremely close within the first month. My best advice would be to give everyone a chance because you might discover a great friendship with someone you never expected. Always keep a good circle of people around you at school, people who will watch out for you the same way you’d watch out for them.
5. Your Life
If you’re spoiled like me, your mom did basically everything for you. My laundry was done and folded on my bed, dinner was cooked every night and when I got sick, my mom never left my side. Leaving for college, you might not think you’ll be able to survive more than a week without any help. I’m here to tell you, you’re more able than you might believe. Laundry is not even remotely difficult, just time-consuming. Make sure you block out about two hours a week to do laundry. You may not have to cook for yourself every night, but you will have to get creative in the dining hall, you can get tired of even the best food. I also stocked up on some healthy snacks to eat in my dorm room like edamame, Naked juice, cheddar cheese sticks and so on. Getting sick while you’re away at college is awful, not going to lie. Make sure you stock up on medicine BEFORE you get sick, just in case.
