Alright, so to be honest, no one can really prepare you for college. I mean, you can be at a better advantage than others if you’re more independent or if you’ve lived outside of your home for a significant period of time, but as far the actual college experience goes, you can’t really get prepared for that. You have to experience it for yourself and learn. No matter how many articles you read, stories you hear, nights you spend with your college friends on campus, it’ll all be a shock once your freshmen year comes around. You’re already in shock because you’ve moved to a new place, and then on top of that, not knowing what to expect and how to fit in with the flow makes it worse. So with that being said, I’ve complied a list of things that I wish I had known coming into college. This list really apply for your entire college career, not just your freshmen year. Now that I’ve learned these things and keep them in mind, it has really helped me grow a lot.

1. You will have to make time for yourself.

So like you’re involved in a bunch of different clubs, you’re taking hard classes, you’re doing an internship, you have a part-time job...the list could go on, really. But bottom line is, in the midst of all these things, when will you have time for yourself? Well, the answer to that is honestly never, if you don’t make time for yourself. I learned this one the hard way; since with balancing all my extra-curricular activities and my schoolwork, I kept finding that I never had time to unwind. College isn’t like high school to where you can leave the premise of high school completely for the night, unwind a little by just being away from the school, and then go back the next day. You’re always either at your campus because you live there or you’re relatively close to the campus and are on campus a lot. Keeping a little time in your schedule to relax and take a break really helps you stay on track and not get too stressed out, since you’ll be fairly relaxed after your me time. My personal general rule of thumb is to always keep about an hour of my day to doing something for my relaxation whether it is watching a movie, reading, painting my nails, etc. With having such a busy schedule, it can be so easy to forget about ourselves and neglect to do anything for relaxation, which means that things can get stressful really quickly. But if a little time is allotted every day for yourself, for the most part, your busy schedule will go more smoothly and you will feel more relaxed and less stressed.

2. You will have to make an effort to see your friends.

With everyone being so busy with their schedules, it becomes hard to see your friends everyday, if they aren’t in any of your classes or they don’t cross paths with you in any of your extra curricular activities. With that being said, if you don’t try to set up time to spend with your friends, your friends will most likely grow distant from you. In high school, you got to see your friends pretty much every day, but in college, if you’re really busy with academics and involvement on campus, then you may rarely get to see them, if you don’t make the efforts to do so. Sure, we all get caught up with our hectic lives, and it can be easy to forget about your friends, but you don’t want to get so caught up with all of the things on your plate that you just completely forget about your friends and never even bother trying to spend time with them. If you want to maintain close relationships with people, then you will have to take time out of your schedule to keep up with your friends.

3. Get involved, but don’t overdo it.

Being involved on campus is pretty awesome, right? Yeah, I know. But when you have like seven leadership roles, it can become problematic. It’s good to get involved, and actually, getting involved on campus is honestly the best way to meet new people. I met some of my closest friends through being in mutual clubs, and I feel like I know my campus a lot better ever since I’ve gotten involved on campus. So yes, being involved is good, and I highly encourage it. But getting overly involved can be an issue. You need time for yourself, to study, and to spend with friends. You can’t possibly have it all if you’re involved in so many clubs and organizations -- there's only 24 hours in a day, so you have to balance how many things you get involved in. Sure, you may be passionate about a bunch of different things, but deep down, there’s got to be some things that you’re more passionate about -- maybe service, residential life, orientation facilitation. Whatever it is, stick to the few things that you are absolutely really really passionate about, instead of things that just seem pretty cool to you. If you stick to a few things that you are extremely passionate about, you’re unlikely to get over-involved, and when you’re taking super hard classes and have a part-time job, you won’t regret it, trust me.

4. Ask for help.

This is something that I struggled with a lot, since I was always afraid I was bothering people. But honestly, the college community, for the most part is willing to help. In many instances, the people who you are asking to help you have been in these situations themselves, and they know what it’s like. As long as you’re polite and thankful, people usually don’t mind giving advice on what classes or what professors to take, if you’re struggling to figure it out. There are lots of resources on campus that are available such as counseling centers, health services, library resources, etc. that are of great use, as well. Utilizing these resources can really help you find what you're looking for and clear any uncertainties. There are also many great campus leaders such as residential assistants and orientation leaders that are more than happy to help, since that is their job, and that was something that was always hard for me to realize my freshmen year since I always felt like a nuisance asking questions. But just remember, many of these people have been in your position, so they can relate to you and understand, so don’t think that you’ll be bothering them, because quite honestly, they probably did the same thing when they were in your position.

5. Branch out.

So basically, what I mean by branch out is to not limit yourself. Don’t be bound to just one friend group, or just one extra-curricular activity, try to do different things that are out of your comfort zone, but don’t go crazy with branching out. I know it’s clichéd, but college is about finding your true self and finding what you’re passionate about. So join clubs and organizations that you’re crazy about and meet new people and ask them about their interests -- you never know what might click with you! Do something new to make your college experience a memorable one! But just remember to not branch out so much to where you can’t manage, as in you’ve ended up joining so many clubs and have made so many friends to the point where most of the friendships are superficial, since you don’t have quality time for anyone. Do things you couldn’t do in high school and try new things, but just always, always keep everything within a limit!