1. Being completely unsure what your major even is.
Months before college even begins, you face the endless question of “what’s your major?” and the questions that follow when you say you aren’t sure. Even if you have a major, odds are that you have virtually no idea what your interest is or where it could take you in life. To the kids who have known they wanted to be a doctor since they were 5, us undecided people will forever envy you.
2. Trying to seem "normal" with all your new friends.
Let’s face it: we’re all a little weird, especially when we’re around our BFFs from home who we have known forever. Unfortunately, the new girl across the hall may not appreciate your High School Musical sing alongs or weird phrases, and we all face the struggle of waiting just a little to come out of our shells.
3. Remembering when to do laundry (and how).
This is definitely a first world problem, but nonetheless one that new freshmen face every week. For most of us, someone else remembered to do our laundry and we never really knew what it entailed or how annoying it truly is. Every freshman has a rude awakening when her favorite shirt shrinks, or her hot pink towels bleed onto her white clothes.
4. Motivating yourself to get out of bed on the weekends.
Despite all the fun things there are to do in college, it’s hard not to be lazy. We all know that feeling: it’s Sunday, the long week hits you like a train, and all you can think about is that new Netflix series. Pushing yourself to get up and go to dinner or the park with your friends when you could spend your day being a couch potato is one of the biggest struggles I have faced yet.
5. Staying on top of your work.
In high school, you go to class every day, where teachers bother you multiple times to turn in an assignment or do a reading. I never realized how helpful their reminders were until I got to college and became 100 percent responsible for remembering my own obligations. Take advantage of your adorable Lilly Pulitzer agenda and write down everything you need to do when you need to do it to try to avoid this struggle.
6. Struggling to stay healthy/go to the gym/not eat everything in sight.
My roommate and I created a small restaurant in our room, which backfired a little when we realized we were literally inhaling everything. Combine this with the difficulty of working up the motivation to go to the gym and the excess of late-night drunk eating opportunities, and you will gain that freshman 15 before you can say “more fries please.”
7. Not wanting to go out but going because all of your friends are.
Peer pressure can be rough in college, especially when it comes to nightlife. Even if you don’t feel like dressing up and getting home at 3 a.m., your friends might. As an eager freshman, it’s hard not to want to explore and fit in with the crowd, not to mention that no one wants to suffer from FOMO in college.
8. Being expected to be an adult (but not really at all).
College is an interesting state of limbo: you’re basically an adult but also still not. As a freshman, your parents are super worried about you, calling 24/7 as if you are still the five year old off at her first day of kindergarten. You have to be responsible for yourself, but there are still so many things that your parents do for you. They will probably give you money that you have never had to handle on your own before. You’re stuck somewhere between age 8, 18 and 38.
9. Trying not to seem like a freshman, but eventually embracing it.
Although I’ve only been in college for a few weeks, I can’t count the number of times people have told me that they just know I’m a freshman. I’m not sure if it’s the fear in our eyes, the lanyards around our necks, or the stupid questions that can come out of our mouths, but something about being a freshman just sticks out. Upperclassmen may tease you about being such a freshman, but they will probably also tell you that freshman year is the most fun time of your life and to embrace all that comes with it.
