As freshman year is coming to an end, I wanted to reflect on all of things that I have learned throughout my time here and the experiences that I have had. Living on a college campus has taught me many valuable lessons and I have been happily been able to take away what I learned from those lessons. I have learned a lot throughout the way and navigating freshman year by yourself is hard, so here is some information to get you through. I have already made these mistakes so you don’t have to.

1. Coffee is (or will be) your best friend

Don’t buy the expensive coffee because you will find that caffeine works in all forms. A one-time investment in a single serve coffee machine will be well worth the money because overall, it’s cheaper to buy off-brand single serve cups than buying coffee at the local shop every day.

2. Take Tupperware with you to the dining hall

Plan ahead before you go to your campus’s dining hall and bring containers with you. A meal swipe generally equals $10 and I’m positive that the bowl of cereal or couple pieces of pizza that you’re going to eat won’t equal a full swipe.

Pro tip: you can stick a container of fruits or veggies in the freezer and use those to cook other meals or make smoothies. Take advantage of those meal swipes and get the most out of them because we are all broke college students and no one will judge you for shoving a plate of pizza into a Ziploc bag (been there done that).

3. Don't wear your lanyard around your neck

First day of school and I made a trip to the bookstore to buy a fancy green lanyard to stick my I.D. in and keys onto. I proudly walked around campus with it clinking around my neck (because obviously, if I did this, then I would never lose it). Within the next couple of days, people kept asking me if I was a freshman and just assuming. So wear your lanyard around your neck if you really want to, but it is almost guaranteed that you will be the assumed freshman.

4. Don't buy food for friends

It may sound like a great idea at first, but food around college is expensive and before you know it, you will have run out of money (or will have run very low). It is fine to offer food if they’re in a pinch or you owe them back, but remember to feed yourself first because you are your own priority.

5. Try to join a club!

Clubs are basically a meeting place for people who have similar interests and goals and surrounding yourself with the people that have the same goals as you is great way of motivation while being at college. Also, club activities often have free food and drinks and it’s a great way to get involved around campus as well. Normally clubs are often made up of students from all grades too, so if you can find a student in your major, befriend them.

6. Don’t let stuff from home hold you back

Living on campus gives you the perfect opportunity to be yourself and not worry about what happened in your past and you have a fresh start to reintroduce yourself. What happened at home or with your old friends is very small compared to what is happening on campus and what’s going on around you.

Past relationships, past friendships, old jobs, and high school memories are all important to your past but from my experience, you have to absorb everything that’s currently happening in college and break free of the past to truly be yourself.

7. Don’t buy a ton of stuff during the year

Living in a dorm for the first time, I brought everything because I thought that I would need it. Most college freshman do the same so that’s completely normal, but picture packing all of that stuff up and having to take it home. Now picture buying a ton more clothes, decorations, shoes and other unnecessary items and having to take that home as well. I highly recommend saving your money while you’re on campus and not buying a whole bunch of stuff that you’re going to have to take back home anyway.

8. Take advantage of the deals

Amazon Prime for students is free for 6 months for college students! After the 6-month period, it is only $49 for the year. This price is half of what it normally costs for an Amazon Prime membership.

Shipping from Amazon if you have Prime is worth it because it only comes in two days and shipping is free. Most things online are cheaper than they would be around campus and if you have the time to wait for groceries, they also offer Amazon Pantry which is often cheaper than grocery stores around a campus. Many companies know how broke college students are, so many others offer deals and discounts!

9. Get to know your RA

Your RA is there to make your college experience a lot easier (or at least your dorm experiences a lot easier). They live on your floor for a reason and have experienced college as a freshman (and survived) so they can help guide you with certain decisions. I personally had a really great RA my freshman year and she helped me to get more involved on campus and also helped me to navigate my first year.