I learned many lessons during my first semester at Iowa State. Thus far, college has been the greatest time of my life and I have met some of my very best friends. Although my experience during the last fifteen weeks has been amazing, I have also learned a few very valuable lessons that I will carry with me throughout my life and time at Iowa State.

1. Listen to your parents

Let's be honest, parents are right about everything. My high school self would’ve never believed this statement to be true. In my mind, I thought that I knew everything and didn’t need anyone else giving me advice. However, as this semester progressed, I found that their guidance and life advice was exactly what I needed. Parents are usually always right about friends, relationships, and the future.

2. Some people aren’t supposed to stay in your life forever, and that is perfectly okay

In life, you sometimes have to go with the flow and allow things to happen without force. I struggled with accepting this for a very long time. Luckily, I learned that friendships and relationships require mutual effort and work best when it isn’t forced in any way. A few of my high school friendships were weakened or even lost when I came to college. I've realized that some people are only meant to be in your life to serve their purpose for a short period of time, and this is perfectly fine.

3. Time management and sleep are very important!

Throughout the semester, I got into a very bad habit of going to bed super late. I pushed assignments off until late at night, and I was up until two or three in the morning trying to catch up. Managing my time throughout the day in order to allow for an earlier bedtime was something that I developed towards the end of the semester. My greatest advice to any college student is to try and keep a consistent bedtime and wake-up time in order to allow for better sleep. Having that consistency will also help with time management so that assignments and tasks are done before this time.

4. Try new things and get involved

Before beginning classes at Iowa State, I decided to go through primary recruitment. After debating this decision all summer, I finally decided that I should give it a chance. How would I know whether or not I liked it if I didn’t give it a chance? All I can say is, I'm so glad that I did. It has been one of the best decisions, and I have met some of my best friends through my chapter. Additionally, I decided to join a committee for Trend Magazine last semester. Branching out and getting involved with this has also helped me gain friendships while doing something that I love!

5. Do what you love

The greatest things that I learned about myself last semester were my passions; I also discovered the things that give me joy. Most of my senior year in high school was spent worrying about the future—and to be honest, I felt very lost. I didn’t quite know who I was or what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. This made my college decision very difficult, and I didn’t decide which school I was attending or my official major until very late in the spring. A lot of my energy was spent overthinking with hopes of making the best decision for myself and my future. I finally decided to stop overthinking and follow an educational path that fit exactly what I loved: fashion and writing.