The first time I stepped into the College of Nursing at the University of Cincinnati, I was just an incoming freshman at orientation filled with anticipation, excitement and eagerness to begin my four years of college. Now, a year later, here I am, thinking back on my first year of nursing school. It was definitely an experience. Through the ups and the downs, the endless cups of coffee and nights I spent studying until the early hours of the morning, I can say I made it through, and so can you. Your first year of nursing school will be exciting and new. You’ll be thrown into lecture halls learning about the anatomy and physiology of the body or the composition of organic molecules. You’ll probably break a couple test tubes in lab and struggle to stay awake during some of your more tedious lectures, but you can do it. So, here’s some advice, from me to you, on how to get through your first year of nursing.

1. Use your professor as your source for help.

Listen to your professor. Usually your professor tells you exactly what you need to know to do well. They’ll tell you exactly what you need to do to succeed in the class, whether it be looking over your notes for a half hour every night, putting in the extra time to do the extra credit assignments or doing practice problems. If they have review sessions before exams, go. If they have office hours and you don’t understand something, just go. Most times you won’t understand the processes or physiology or concepts the first time you hear them. Most of the time, they need to be explained again, and there’s no better person to explain it and help you understand than your professor.

2. Earn the little points.

If you have classes that have little homework assignments due that only are worth five points or maybe attendance is one or two points each class, earn as many as you can. These points definitely will add up and can be the difference between a grade for you.

3. Make friends in your classes.

Your friends you make in nursing will be your support group. They will become your best friends before you know it. You can lean on them when you’re having a bad day, study with them, explain things to each other and vent to them about your classes and teachers. People in other majors really don’t understand when your stressed out about memorizing every muscle in the body and its insertion and origin or when you’re up all night trying to memorize the different genera and species of bacteria that cause different diseases. You can draw out countless pictures of the body’s processes on white boards and test yourself with note cards for memorization together making everything that much easier just to have someone to do it with. Find your person. You’re probably going to need that person to motivate you to get stuff done, make it to the tutor session together, stay up a little longer with or help you make it to class at 8 a.m. You will be blessed to have them, trust me.

4. Don’t forget to have fun or relax.

Now, of course, you should always take your school work very seriously, but don’t forget to go out there and try new things and have fun your first year of college. Everything is brand new to you, and you will have much more freedom than you did in high school. Don’t spend every living moment you have studying two weeks in advance for tests or staying in because of assignments due. Manage your time and make time to have a little fun or get involved in an organization or club around campus that interest you. You’ll regret it if you spend every weekend cooped up in your dorm room studying or doing school work, and it may even drive you insane. Set aside extra time to just relax, too. Binge watch some "Grey’s Anatomy" or take a nap when you need to.

5. Let coffee become your best friend.

Or any type of caffeine, for that matter. Sometimes you’re going to need that extra pick-me-up from a cup of coffee or a bottle of Coke to help you make it through the day or the night studying. Coffee did wonders for me my freshman year, and I’d like to personally thank it for helping me make it through my first year of nursing.

6. Push yourself.

If you do badly on your first test, figure out why and do better the next time. Don’t settle for not great. Get what you need done and do a little extra. Push yourself to get the good grade instead of the average one. Push yourself to sit down and finish something instead of procrastinating. You need to find your motivation and work with it. Personally, my motivation was to do well in the beginning, so I never had to play catch up and try to improve my grade later on.

So, good luck with your first year of nursing. Your first year is just the start of many more years full of exciting things like your clinicals in the hospital and wearing scrubs! Do your best and be great. Remember, Meredith Grey didn’t become a surgeon and get to marry McDreamy by not studying.