As my freshman year comes to a close, I have been thinking a lot about how unique of an experience being a freshman truly is. The past nine months have flown by so quickly that it was hard to even realize in the moment how many firsts and special moments were happening right before my eyes. Freshman year is the beginning of a completely new phase of life, and there are so many adjectives that can be applied to that first year as a college student.
Freshman year is fun.
When you go to your first football tailgate, frat party or festival with all of your new friends and think to yourself "this is my life for the next four years." Or when you spend a night in with friends, watching movies and realizing that you have found friends like those you had in high school.
Freshman year is scary.
Walking into class on the first day after spending 30 minutes trying to navigate campus, seeing no familiar faces and wondering how you are going to survive as such a small fish in a huge pond.
Freshman year is eye-opening.
Being faced with challenges in your personal life, social life, school and being able to learn more about yourself. Recognizing the kind of person you are and the kind of person you want to be once you leave college.
Freshman year is gross.
Living in a tiny room, trying to avoid the nasty walls of communal showers, praying that your feet don't touch the floors of your dorm and realizing that this is all part of the "freshman experience."
Freshman year is unique.
Being the newest kid on the block and able to use being a freshman as an excuse for messing up. And being stuck somewhere right in the middle of childhood and adulthood, realizing that college hit you a lot faster than you expected it to.
Freshman year is a lot of things, but most of all, it is the best time of your life. While it can be extremely scary and overwhelming and sometimes all you want is to be a simple high school kid who can rely on their parents for everything again, it is also amazing and fun and a time for some of the greatest change of your whole life. So if you're a fellow freshman reading this, do as I am trying to and soak up every second of these last few weeks of what is sure to be the most unique time of your life. And if you're a high school senior, get ready, because freshman year is truly unlike any other.