1. Holy sh*t. I’m in college.
It doesn’t really hit you when you get your high school diploma. Or even when you start (over)packing your bags with things to take to college. But after your parents leave your side after move-in — that’s when it hits. You’re excited, but at the same time you’re thinking, Wait, what do I even do with myself, which slowly progresses to more serious thoughts like how you’ve never done laundry before or worrying about making new friends and starting fresh at a school with classmates you’ve only met via creeping on their Facebook. Mood: Holy sh*t, I’m screwed.
2. This is weird.
Parents not telling me when to come home, when to clean my room or saying no to certain things? Ok, I can live with that. You’d think that, after preparing 18 years for this point of no return, it’d feel a little less strange. But the reality of it is, you still feel unprepared. Like walking into an interview and not knowing what job you’re interviewing for — that kind of unprepared. You try and push those thoughts away, but the excitement, mixed with the pre-first day jitters, feels like freshman year of high school all over again except magnified by 100. Everything, from the city, the dorms and the atmosphere are so foreign, and feeling like a lone fish in the sea of people on campus seems unavoidable.
3. I have no friends, and life is awkward.
If you had no problems making new friends off the bat ... OK, bye. You’ve been blessed with the social butterfly skills and probably didn’t suffer the “Oh no, who do I sit by in the dining hall” (cue lunch room scene from "Mean Girls") and the “I guess I’ll just walk around awkwardly and act like I’m waiting for my nonexistent new friend” phases. For me, the first few days on campus, surrounded by strangers, was the epitome of the word uncomfortable. Making new friends is hard when you can’t help but radiating waves of awkwardness and being stuck between wanting to walk up to a stranger and introduce yourself or playing it safe and sticking alongside your one friend from your orientation group is a serious dilemma.
4. Hey, dining hall food isn’t that bad.
Hey, look, healthy options. “If I eat salad every day, I should be able to escape the wrath of the freshman 15.” OK, just kidding. The ice cream’s right over there. But overall, not bad. The selection is not great, but the dining hall horror stories seem a little exaggerated.
5. OK, just kidding. I take that back.
A few days later, you realize you’ve eaten the same thing for lunch every day since orientation six days ago ... nice. Also, the rubbery chicken they serve every day ... need I say more? The food here just went B- to a solid D in a matter of days.
6. Did I pick the right school for me ... ?
If you don’t feel at least a little smidge of doubt about choosing the right school, you’re lying. Sometime between the stressful first classes and freshman orientation activities, I found myself logging on to Facebook and seeing hometown friends, who all decided to go to school together, having the time of their lives, while I’m over here counting all of the friends I’ve made so far on one hand. It sucks. You start to think, why didn’t I just pick a school close to home that’s flooded with people I went to high school with? Am I going to fit in here? You hate to admit it, but you’re scared that the school you fell in love with might not be what you expected.
7. I’m overwhelmed, stressed, and need a hug.
It’s only Wednesday, and the first mental breakdown that eventually hits everyone is happening. The printer won’t print the paper you spent all night working on. One minute you’re mildly stressed, but before you know it, you’re sitting in a messy pile of notebooks and binders, crying about God knows what. Zero to 100, real quick. All the nerves and anxiety you’ve been trying to hold in or ignore from the stress of trying to make friends, staying on top of schoolwork, and everything in between, explodes, and of course, at the most inconvenient time ever. College is a lot harder than you expected. You’re mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted and in need of a good night’s rest, which also reminds you how much you miss your own bed back home ...
8. I think I’m getting the hang of this “college” thing.
The calm after the storm. After the stressful first few days of classes, you seem to be getting used to the hectic schedule and are feeling less overwhelmed. The walk to your 8:30 a.m. class doesn’t feel as stressful, you’ve finally mastered the pronunciation of your professors’ names, and finding a group of people to sit with at every meal is no longer a mini-panic attack. Suddenly, the Y = - X slope that described your life the past few days is looking more like Y = X. You find yourself looking forward to going out on the weekend with new friends, befriending people with common interests and becoming more comfortable with the lifestyle change. Mood: Relieved.
9. I belong here.
This has been, without a doubt, the longest week of your life. Just seven days ago, you were hugging your parents goodbye, and now, you’ve survived your first week as a college freshman. The roller coaster of emotions is finally settling down, the once-foreign campus seems a whole lot friendlier, and even upperclassmen seem much less daunting. Regardless of the doubts from earlier in the week, you’ve managed to make new friends, talked to more people than you ever have in a seven-day span and learned to share a 12-foot by 19-foot room with a stranger. You’ve even managed to master the art of how to do laundry (cold wash and warm wash is still confusing). But most importantly, over the past week, you’ve been reminded of why this school first caught your eye and come to terms that you truly belong here. It's a feeling you've never quite felt before, but you realize how happy you are that for the next four years this is home.
