During my first week of my freshman year at Converse, I was getting up at six in the morning, exercising, putting on makeup and wearing cute trendy outfits. I made my bed every morning, I wrote assignments and important dates in my handy-dandy planner, and I ate relatively healthy meals in Gee Dining Hall. I was bubbling with the excitement and energy of a freshman high schooler; this was a new chapter with new teachers, new friends, and a new environment, and I was feeling on top of the world.

It is now November, and a few things have changed. Makeup has not happened except for on recital days and school parties/dances. Those colorful shorts and tunic tops I adorned in August have been replaced with work-out pants, T-shirts, and oversized hoodies. My hair is more often than not fixed in a messy bun, and I don’t always have the motivation to stick my fingers in my eye to put on my contacts. Regarding academics, I’m a little less excited about my calculus and science-y history of disease classes, although I still enjoy learning new material. With my violin practice regimen, I have often traded thirty minutes of scales for a cat nap on the couch in the music building. While I have been getting all of my work done on time and maintaining a 4.0 GPA, I have sometimes sacrificed study and exercise time for going out with friends for dinner or other social events. It’s important to make the most out of your college experience academically and socially, but at times I need to remind myself why I am pursuing a college degree in the first place: not to be a social butterfly, but to become as well-equipped as possible for my future career.

One thing that I have also realized is that I need to treat myself while keeping myself in check. In the tenth grade, I attended a boarding school with a buffet at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. With my disastrously slow metabolism, I gained fifteen pounds, and I compared this experience to the dreaded “freshman fifteen.” I am not looking to start that trend during my years at Converse, so I work out when I can, I take the stairs to and from my dorm on the fourth floor, and I try to cut back on sweets. If I have a cookie at lunch, I can’t have any dessert at dinner, and so on. However, when it is a stressful week, I am not going to hold myself back from eating a lot of chocolate or ice cream.

One thing I have also realized during these first few months of college is that I will not always make perfect grades, I will not always sound good when I practice or rehearse my music, and I will not always have the willpower to keep pushing through the semester. Often times I just want to sleep and forget my responsibilities. However, as long as I continue to manage my time well and handle stress effectively (ish), I will not only survive college, but I will thrive by making the best of the opportunities given to me at Converse.

Also, my opinion on attending an all-girl school has further cemented that I made the right college choice. Being surrounded by hard-working, talented, compassionate, and supportive ladies has not only boosted my self-confidence but it has pushed me to reach for the stars. This school has also shown me that I don’t need anybody in my life to complete me, but I can become more mature, responsible, and independent all on my own, but having this sisterhood as a support system really helps.

Overall, I guess you could say I have become a bit more “chill” since the start of college. Am I still a perfectionist about my academic and artistic goals? Of course. But I have also acknowledged that I am a human being and I make mistakes. The best thing I can do is to learn from them and bounce back with a fire in my eyes and a passion to become better personally, academically, artistically, and socially.

Thank you, college, for a great and eye-opening start.