After freshman year of college, you have that set group of friends who you keep in touch with all summer, and you begin to make plans with for the upcoming semester. Once you get back, there is a wave of excitement, anxiety and familiarity.
These are a few things to expect when returning to college as well as uniting your college group once again.
1. The first few days are mainly all about your friends.
You're more than excited to be back with the group. You visit each member and look at their dorms, go eat at the Stu (Student Center, Cafeteria, whatever your school may call it) together, and just spend all day together taking turns talking about each other's summers. This is the time where you begin to get settled in and back into the old routine.
2. Decorating!
Once you have gotten the chance to enjoy your little reunion with your friends, you now have a very important task... that is, decorating your dorm. Personally, my roommates and I are decorating by following a particular color scheme so our entire dorm matches. This part can either be very stressful or fun. It all depends on how you go about it. Honestly, if you plan things ahead of time, I feel like it will end up being more fun than stressful.
3. Now it's time to get down to the books.
Now it is the first week of classes. You are getting to know some new professors and some old ones who you may have had before or have had contact with prior to the last school year ending. Either way, it is now the time to get into the habit of doing schoolwork and studying. This is where you figure out which professors actually utilize the books they had posted as "required" materials. Most of the time there is always that one professor who never uses the textbook, while some may not even mention it.
4. You are on your own once again.
Here you are again, at a place where you are responsible for everything you do. College is the place where you no longer rely on others to tell you what to do, but for you to take initiative and discipline yourself. Remember all the times your parents or guardians would always bother you to do your homework, chores and even study? Well you have the freedom to do what you want, you learn rather quickly what you should do, what is right and what is wrong.
5. You get to the opportunity to make more memories.
The year before had brought its memories, but now you and your crew get to do the exact same thing again. All of you will be on the same grounds, back in the same routines, and even though not all of you may be in the same residence halls, you will always find that one place where all of you gather and just hang out.
