Throughout high school, I dreamed of my freshman year of college. I had no idea what to expect, but I was told that it would be one of the best years of my life. Now, with less than two weeks of my freshman year left (crazy how time flies!), I can say that this year has been everything I hoped and dreamed of and more. Freshman year defied my expectations. It gave me new friends, lasting memories and a greater appreciation for home-cooked meals. Freshman year wasn’t what I though it would be. It was better.
Expectation: I’ll stay up late sometimes, but I’ll get way more sleep than I did in high school.
Reality: College is pretty tough, but it’s also pretty fun. No, I didn’t get much sleep. In fact sleeping for eight hours at night was a major accomplishment, however, the time that I didn’t spend sleeping was spent doing much more valuable things. Sure, sometimes I went to bed late because I went to dinner with friends, stayed up hanging out at the sorority house or had a Netflix marathon with my roommate. The sleep deprivation was worth it, though, because I wouldn’t trade all of the smiles and laughs for the world.
Expectation: I won’t eat a bunch of junk food when I’m in college!
Reality: It’s totally possible to eat healthy foods during your freshman year. The thing is, when else in your life will it be acceptable to have French fries and chicken nuggets for lunch and dinner?
Expectation: I don’t know if I’ll join any organizations during my freshman year. I should probably just focus on schoolwork.
Reality: Joining any organization, from Student Government to Ambassadors to Greek life to any other of the 400+ student orgs, is one of the best decisions I made as a college freshman. By joining student organizations, I’ve been able to meet so many new friends and have opportunities to participate in fun events and service projects.
Expectation: I’ll go home on the weekends often.
Reality: Every weekend, there’s something exciting going on, so I definitely don’t go home as much as I thought I would. I do, however, cherish the weekends that I do get to spend at home with my family even more, especially because it means leaving my shower shoes at school and getting to eat so much food.
Expectation: This campus is so huge, and there are so many people here! I don’t know how I’ll get used to it.
Reality: Although campus felt large and overwhelming at first, it didn’t take long for me to figure out how to navigate through it. Now, I can comfortably say that this beautiful campus feels like home, and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t pass at least one person I know when I walk to class.
Looking back on my freshman year, I realize that it went by so much faster than I expected, and I loved all of the ups and downs that it brought my way. Freshman year is a fun, exciting time when you’ll learn the art of “adulting,” while meeting new friends and making late-night trips to Sonic. Here’s to three more memorable years of college!
