Dear Freshmen Students,

Congrats! You have made it through the first semester. You have done something that many of your peers thought was impossible as exams dates crept closer. Now that you have an academic system worked out, here are some life-changing events that you need to have prior to graduating.

1. Play Cards Against Humanity Charade Style

This is actually a thing. In fact, it is how I met some of my best friends. One day, I was just sitting in my room talking to my mom. Then I hear these people screaming the crudest things at each other, and the only question my mother dares to ask is, "Why are people having an orgy on a Thursday night? Tell them to quiet down."

I hung up the phone and climbed down from my lofted bed. I questioned just exactly how I was about to ask this. Do I slide a condom under the door? Maybe state they were interrupting homework? Instead I went with the straightforward approach. I knocked on the door and a round of "shhhhhh" went around the room as this short brown head girl with a green sweater opened the door.

"Hey, my mom wants to know why there is a orgy going on," I said. Laughter erupted within the room and I was immediately asked to join them in this game.

I hadn't laughed that much since the summer before move-in day when my friend left for the Navy. I never called my mom back that night. If I remember correctly, she ended up calling me on Sunday, asking if I had died. I spent the entire weekend with these fools, and I created my first group of really good friends

Though there have been fights, people leaving, people coming back, additions, and subtractions, I know that I would never be where I am now without this friend circle's past and present members. I will never be able to thank them enough for letting me into their lives and putting up with mine.

2. Leave Your Door Open or Unlocked

I know this sounds like something your RA said to get you all to become a "community," but it actually works out in the end. My roommate last year was (and is) part of Alpha Chi Omega. So she had a lot of new sisters that would occasionally come over and they would have study sessions and craft. Honestly, I loved it. I got the sorority life without having to pay the money for my two years here. But I digress.

On a random Friday night, she was out with her sisters and I was working on a paper that was coming close to due date while listening to one of my favorite bands, Paradise Fears. I had been obsessed with them since my freshmen year of high school. They were going to be in Orlando, but I had no car and my Zipcar card hadn't come in yet, so I had no way to get there nor anyone to go with. Then a random girl knocked on my door and came on in. She was looking for my roommate, Morgan, because she was bored.

In a matter of moments, this random girl, Olivia, was chillin in one of our bean bag chairs, munching on some cheese balls, and asking what I was listening to. I let her listen to a song and she thought they were decent enough. I told her it had been a dream of my mine to meet them, but I had a lack of car problem. Without thinking, she offered her Zipcar and said she would go with me if I bought the tickets.

The next day we found ourselves in Orlando, in this tiny little venue dead center of the stage -- standing room only. This was probably the craziest thing I had done, up until the concert started, at least. Which leads to point three:

3. Go To Small Concerts, Big Concerts, Just Concerts

In this tiny venue, I could actually see the band, without having my ear drums popped out because of the speakers. They could even see the fans in the back. Olivia and I stood through the warm up bands, laughing at the more "pop" focused ones that had no business being at such a venue and the ones that we still can't figure out how they had gotten picked to go on tour. Then came on Hollywood Ending. They were actually pretty good, we had listened to a few of their songs prior to the concert. We decided to do funny faces at them for the entire set, and make up crazy dances. On their second or third song the guitarist finally noticed and messed up his chords and laughed at us. He pointed us out to the others and we laughed as the other girls freaked out around us.

After their set, we got to meet the lead singer's mother and aunt, and took a picture with them because we thought we were so cool. Then we went back to our section. Olivia pushed us up closer, determined for me to meet this band that I had my heart set on. She didn't mind that I slightly ignored her, and she tried to help get us noticed again. The lead singer, Sam, actually noticed me in the crowd as I sang and mimicked his motions from their video for their song "Sanctuary."

Afterward, we got to meet the bands and take pictures. Olivia even managed to get Sam to come back and get a picture by saying her battery was at two percent and wouldn't last long enough for him to come back. Sam braved the small crowd and gave me this huge hug. The ride back to campus, though, was probably even better than the concert as we gushed over the new find of Hollywood Ending, how they had noticed us, and how sweet Sam was.

This love for concert going continued for the rest of the year, as we added new bands to our list to watch out for, like The Weekend Riot and The House on Cliff. For a few hours, it takes all the stress away from the foreground of your brain, and you are able to just relax and unwind.

This had lead to us reconnecting pretty much every three months, which is great, since Olivia doesn't attend Stetson anymore, and I will be leaving come May. Olivia busted me out of whatever shell I still had and taught me that sometimes breaking the rules, like where a backstage is located, can lead to some great adventures and stories that almost no one would believe. And a possible romance, if you are lucky.

4. Call Home Often

I know, you are at college expanding your wings and learning to be an adult. Your parents miss you, though. They raised you for 18 years, saw your face pretty much every day, and pushed you to get this point. They should hear from you more than a quick phone call alerting them you are alive, are in need of funds, or are coming home for laundry.

A lot happens in a semester. Your parents are trying to get accustomed to living on their own again, and they could use your help in creating new topics to talk about, as well as vent to you about what is going on at home. Sometimes, your parents need you just as much as you need them. Don't let everything going on here wait to be told come Thanksgiving or Christmas or even Spring Break, if you are actually planning on going home for that.

5. Accept Random Invites

The Commons can be terrifying, even come second semester, if you don't have large friend group. For me, I had my Cards Against Humanity squad, and that was about it. I knew some people within my classes, but it was strange to sit with them when they were juniors and I was freshmen with junior credits (long story). I ended up sitting at this table waiting for someone I knew to come in.

Across the way, there were these two guys messing around with bananas. I chuckled and texted my friend asking where she was. One of the boys noticed me, as there was barely anyone in the Commons because it was a long weekend and the majority of the students had had left. He was about to come over when my friend came in and explained how she had lost track of time while working on a project. We laughed about this and she got her food. When she came back I noticed the boy walking towards the fruit section again

I pointed him out, and explained what I had seen while she was working and then out of no where the two boys started to throw bananas at each other around us. We were dying of laughter. I mean, I'm sure the sight had to be hilarious from the outside. Patrick, one of the banana boys, sat down and introduced himself. He asked if we would go to a movie night he was having, followed by a game of Ninja. I agreed, and had a marvelous time. It soon became a regular Saturday night event, which led me to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and a new group of friends.

I hope you take full advantage of your four years (or however long) at college. Savor every moment. This is your time to experiment and actually find out who you are supposed to be. Try everything once, no matter how crazy it seems. You are a blank page who needs to be written, cross out, and doodled on, as well as ripped and taped back together. Make yourself something new, but always remember where you started from.

Sincerely,

A senior who still is finding out new things about herself.