Your freshman year is the most life-changing year of your life. Some of you move away from home, some of you don't. Some of you will rush a sorority or a fraternity, some of you won't. We won't all go down the same path, but we all will start to find ourselves. This past fall I headed off to college just a couple hours from home. I lost friends, gained friends, went through a couple of roommates, got some bad grades, and rushed a service sorority. Whatever path you choose to go down, these five tips will help light your path.
1. Choose Your Roommate Wisely
A lot of people think that rooming with their best friend will be the best time of their lives. For some, this is true, but for many others, it is not. This past year I have seen many best friends grow apart and begin to despise each other because they are around each other 24/7, and living together caused them to see each other's flaws. Let's say your best friend snores louder than a grizzly bear. Sure, you could deal with it for one or two nights here and there, but could you deal with it every night? I myself chose to room with a friend and things did not work out, because she was a totally different person than what I thought. However, there are many friends that room together and are brought closer than ever before. So don't let me discourage you. Just a heads up!
2. Don't Shoot Down Community-Style Living
In most schools, you have the choice of living in a suite-style room, or a community-style room. A suite-style is two rooms connected by a bathroom, and community-styles have the shower and toilet in the hall to be shared by all of the floormates. A lot of people think it is "gross" to share a bathroom and shower with the whole floor, while others are willing to sacrifice it in order to save a couple thousand dollars. The showers are cleaned weekly and the bathrooms are cleaned daily, so it's not as bad as you think. In my experience, I met more people in community-style than I ever would have in a suite-style. While having your own bathroom would be nice, saving a couple thousand dollars is more nice.
3. Have An Open Mind About Rushing
Going into my freshman year, I thought I would never rush. It wasn't the life for me. But as I watched all of the girls during rush-week picking out their favorite sororities, I knew I wanted to be a part of a sisterhood. I waited to rush until my second semester of my freshman year, and I couldn't be happier with the sisterhood that I chose. My sorority gives me a sense of belonging, and helps me fulfill my love for service. Just keep an open mind about rushing, and make sure you look into all of the Greek opportunities on campus if you do decide to rush.
4. Don't Judge a Fraternity By It's Cover
On your journey through college, you will encounter many fraternity guys, and some of them will be complete jerks, but don't get me wrong, you will encounter many sweethearts. In my freshman year, I encountered my fair share of jerks in each fraternity, but I have also came across many sweethearts. Don't let the bad guys scare you away. Like me, you will probably have your favorite fraternities, and your not-so favorite fraternities. I came across a couple that I stuck with, and plan on sticking with for a while.
5. Procrastination Is A No-Go
No matter how much we all love Netflix, hanging out with our friends, and partying, we still need to make time for school work. College years are supposed to be the best years of your life, but don't forget why you are there in the first place: to get a good education. Get a planner, mark your calendar, and put up sticky notes. You never want to turn an assignment in late, and you most definitely don't want to forget to turn in an assignment. College is more difficult than high school, but with a little determination, it can easily be done.
If you are reading this and headed into your first year of college, good luck, enjoy, and study hard! I hope you will use these five tips to your advantage and make many memories. Enjoy these next four or more years. As Bill Cosby said, "There is a time and place for everything, and that is college."
