Freshman year of college can be described as quite possibly one of the most hectic times of your life. So much is changing in such a short period of time and it can be really scary. When I was gearing up for my first college move-in day, I had no idea what to expect. No amount of YouTube videos or Google searches would prepare me for the ride I had embarked on when I stepped foot on campus.
One thing no one tells you about freshman year is that first semester is hard. After the first few weeks, the shiny, unknown quality of college starts to wear off and you’re left with the realization that this is it. This is your life now, it’s not some vacation that you get to leave after a week or two. This is your new home for the next four years. Usually, during this time of revelation you are still in the adjustment period and don’t have a set group of friends or routine making this newfound enlightenment a hard blow.
Sometimes, even when you’ve found friends, they aren’t the right ones. A month into college you might realize that the people you’ve been hanging out with aren’t really the type of people you can see yourself being friends with all throughout college. This can be confusing because you’re supposed to be making lifelong friends, right? Don’t worry. Think back to your freshman year of high school. Were the friends you had back then the same as the ones you had your senior year? I doubt it. You are constantly meeting new people in college, if you don’t make the types of friendships you’re looking for instantly, they will come with time.
Of course college isn’t just about making friends, it’s about furthering your education too. That brings me to the subject of academics. You’ve probably heard that college is harder than high school, but how bad can it be, right? Wrong. Doing homework the day it’s due and not studying for tests unless you count mandatory reviews by your teachers aren’t going to cut it in college. You’ll be assigned hundreds of pages of readings each week along with essays and quizzes. Make sure to start good studying habits right away and stay on top of your work and you will do well. Teachers have office hours for a reason, use them to your advantage.
Finally, second semester is when most freshman start to feel excited about their college and spending the next 3 and a half years there. You will start to make friends you can see in your life for a long time, get the hang of your classes, and have a daily routine to look forward to. All of the changes from first semester that you were dreading become the things you look forward to. The adjustment period wears off and you start to realize that you made the best decision of your life by picking the college that you did. Freshman year may be one of the most confusing years of your life, but it will also be the best. Make the most of this portion of your life because there is no other time quite like it.
