Dear Second Semester Freshman,

So you’ve gotten the hang of things around campus. You know where the better late-night food places are and you know which houses to never go to for a party.

You’ve learned a lot in the last few months but let me assure you, there is still so much to learn.

As you move forward, I want to offer you some advice for the upcoming semester.

The most important thing right now is to enjoy winter break. Enjoy your time away from school, out of dorms and the time to relax.

Enjoy the time with your family and friends.

But when spring semester rolls around, try harder than first semester.

If you weren’t thrilled with your grades, be aware of yourself and learn how to become a better student. There are so many resources available to you on campus that will help you learn about your best ways to study and most productive activities.

It’s a terrible feeling as you go through college and look back at the semester or semesters of freshman year that are really keeping your GPA down. While your GPA isn’t the most important thing, it’s something to care about. Be proud of the work you submit. It has your name on it and it represents you.

I wish I had taken freshman year more seriously because recovering from a lousy semester feels like crap. I’d much rather start out with a solid foundation so that by senior year maybe I don’t have to try quite as hard.

Next, for those of you who took classes far too seriously. Breathe. Relax. You should always be putting your best foot forward and submitting your absolute best work. But remember there is nothing wrong with having a social life and having some fun. Don’t spend all day every day studying and worrying about classes. You are entitled to a break and to some fun times. Make plans for spring break and stick to them. Go away with your friends, plan a weekend with your family or spend time with yourself and enjoy the time off. It won’t last forever.

One thing I wish I had done as a freshman, especially second semester, is to start to look at internships. It’s never too early to start looking and no one says you have to apply freshman year. But think about how awesome that makes you look! Consider applying for a summer internship in your field so you can get some hands-on experience as early as possible. What if you get into the field and end up hating it? You won’t know that until it’s too late if you wait until junior or senior year.

Bouncing off that, don’t try to get all your general requirements out of the way as early as possible. Don’t try to take the required history, math and language all in one year to get it over with. How will you know if your major or minor is right for you if you haven’t taken classes yet? Try to get a few in every semester. The sooner you get into those classes, the sooner you’ll have a true idea what the field is like. If you wait until your last two years to get all those classes done, you don’t have a chance to potentially change your major or add a minor.

I wish someone had told me freshman year to get into my field sooner. I ended up loving it either way, but what if I didn’t? I hadn’t considered I wouldn’t love it, but so many people end up unhappy as their classes progress.

Remember that you only get one freshman year. One sophomore year. And so on. Make the most of every moment. Everyone will tell you how quickly college flies back but you won’t realize just how fast that is until you’re packing up your car at the end of freshman year and then all of a sudden you’re sitting for senior portraits in a cap and gown.

Enjoy every moment with all the wonderful people who surround you.