The first semester of freshman year in college can be rough, especially if you've moved away from home for the first time. Here are some typical struggles most college students can relate to.
1. Having to make new friends
Making friends can be super difficult while at college, and at first it seems almost impossible. Moving away and attending a new school with thousands of students can be overwhelming. However, everyone there is feeling the same emotions you are, so being social and overcoming your fears are the best way to make friends fast.
2. Having to eat dining center food 24/7
The food at the dining center where I go to school is actually pretty good, but no matter how good the food may taste, you can only eat the same meals every day for so long. When you're at college, you realize just how much you miss home cooked meals.
3. Using most of your flex dollars within the first few weeks
Normally, this struggle is brought upon by number 2. Because we are tired of eating the same food week by week, we tend to dip into our flex dollars a little more than we planned. Besides, when you have the choice of the restaurants in the student center and the food in the dining center, is there really even a choice to be made?
4. Learning how the bus system works
This was probably the most terrifying part of my first semester for me. My college discourages freshmen to bring their cars to campus, so the only way to get around is to walk everywhere, take the bus, or to make friends with someone who does have a car. Taking the bus alone for the first time can be scary, but by the end of the semester you'll be a public transportation pro.
5. Having exams in all of your classes in the same week
Most classes stay roughly on the same schedule, so most of the time we as college students will be left to study for all of our classes at once. Every once in a while a class will start to fall behind which gives us a time to catch our breath (but not for long, because college professors are great at making up for lost time).
6. Going home for the first time and not wanting to go back to school
The first two times I went home from college I was an emotional wreck. Since I didn't have a whole lot of friends at school yet, I was super upset that I had to leave my best friends at home because I felt alone at school.
7. The fire alarm... enough said.
The joys of living in a dorm building includes living with people who don't know how to make microwave popcorn, so you're forced to evacuate the building in the middle of the night. Want to have even more fun? Try living on the 25th floor. It's super exciting.
