Exhaustion 

College is exhausting. It is exhausting to try to balance your academics, organizations, and all the other new responsibilities that college freshman have. I have learned that coffee is an essential, so if you do not drink coffee, I highly recommend that your start.

Sadness

No one really prepares you for how much you are going to miss your family, friends, and in my case, pets from back home. My advice on how to cope with this is to do things that spark joy and to communicate with them. They miss you just as much and they would love for you to give them a call, even if it is just a five minute catch up session.

Frustration

For me, there is not anything more frustrating than when you work so hard on a project, test, paper, etc. and do not get the score that you were hoping for. I have had to accept that this is probably going to happen a time or two, and that this is okay. I have had to remind myself not to get too overwhelmed with the idea of failure, everything will work out.

Joy

The best feeling that I have felt is joy, pure and utter joy. One thing that sparks joy for me is when I come home after a long day and my roommate and I can catch up and watch our show, "Friends". Another thing that sparks so much joy for me is the drill field cat. She will come up to you and wait for you to pet her and it really does make my day. For me, it really is the small things that give me the most joy. I encourage you to seek these things and cling to them.

Proud

I can not help but to feel proud of myself for being here. When I think about this time last year, I remember when my current life as a college student was my dream. There really is no other feeling than running as fast as you can to make your 8:00 am on a Friday. Making my friends and family proud is obviously a goal of mine, but so is making myself proud.