We've all seen the articles; they are everywhere and are all carbon copies of each other. They all go a little something like this: if you are a college freshman here are 10 things you can't do if you want to be cool. Don't wear a lanyard, don't bring books or movies, don't bring a water filter, don't wear anything from high school and DON'T act like a freshman.
Do you want to know a super secret fun fact? The only thing that makes you look like a freshman is listening to everything everyone tells you to do to be "cool." You're an adult now, and being an adult means you get to do what you want. I remember two years ago when I started college and reading all the articles that told me how I had to act.
Guess what? I act however I want, even if it makes me look like a freshman.
Maybe it's stupid that I've actually been moderately outraged at an article telling me I look stupid wearing my lanyard around my neck. Why? Some people argue that it isn't a convenient place to keep your keys, credit card or ID. I, on the other hand, have yet to find a more convenient place. In my pocket you say? That's bulky and uncomfortable when I sit. In my bag? Then I have to take the dang thing off every time I need something, and that opens up the possibility of me spilling the entirety of my bags' contents onto the floor.
Another thing I've heard some people argue is that you shouldn't keep your lanyard around your neck for your own safety. Yes, I can understand this one. You never know when some crazed college student is going to charge at you like a bull and rip your lanyard of your neck. The odds of that happening though? Low. By the way, lanyards are NOT that easy to get on and off. Half the time, I am trying to untangle it from my hair because I didn't give much thought about how to take it off properly.
The main reason for all this lanyard talk is to let you freshmen know that it doesn't matter what you do your first year. You are figuring everything out still, and that's okay. Believe me when I say you are going to make mistakes. Some of those mistakes are going to make you look like a HUGE freshman but don't worry, because that's what you are! After all, they always say the only way to learn things is to first mess them up. I have embarrassed myself on numerous occasions; I've circled my lab building multiple times to find my class, just to figure out I was looking at the wrong day of the week, and I've had to debate in class only to let awkward silence fill the air instead.
Moral of the story, there are more important things than what you bring to college and what you wear around campus. It's the beginning of a two to eight year journey, and you shouldn't have to worry about anything trivial. Focus on your studies, focus on your health and find out what you are going to be doing when those years are up. Trust me when I say, no one will ever ask you about college with a focus on finding out if you wore a lanyard with that beautiful student ID picture in the clear plastic slot.
