Heading off to college after living at home for your entire life can be scary. And trust me when I say that it's not easy to step foot onto campus for your freshman year and become immediately engrossed in the "best four years of your life." It really does take time. But, ask any college student today, and you'll get an extensive list of things they wish they would have known before the commencement of their first year in college.
Faced with the question: "Having been through at least a year of college, what's one thing you would want college freshmen to know before the school year starts?" here is a list of some responses:
“Make as many mistakes as possible.”
“There’s no wrong decision. You can always change your mind later, but if you follow your heart in the beginning, you probably won’t get stuck in the end.”
“Don’t go home every weekend. Socialize with your classmates.”
“Form your own opinions about people. Don’t let what others say and rumors you’ve heard dictate how you view and/or treat others."
“It’s easier to make friends than you think. Go up to people and be friendly.”
“You are not the only one going through a tough time. All the other freshmen can relate, so talk to them.”
“Study hard for the first test as there are a limited number of tests, and they count for a lot.”
“It’s OK to not know a major right away, but finding one early is best as it helps to ensure graduating on time.”
“Stay true to yourself. Take the time to grow but don’t forget where you came from.”
“Be understanding because you’ll meet a lot of people from vastly different lives than yourself.”
“Don’t wait to write a 10-page paper until the night before it’s due.”
“It’s OK to not know what you’re doing with your life or what your major is. I know it caused me a lot of anxiety and stress, but I realized the main part of college is figuring out exactly who you are, what you like to do and who you want to become.”
“You won’t look back and remember the nights you went to bed at 10 p.m., so get wild.”
“Get involved in campus organizations to make friends and boost your resume.”
“Go to as many events as you can and get involved!”
“Jump into activities and get involved. But most of all, do the thing that scares you the most, the thing that challenges you and makes you think ‘Nah, I can’t do that,’ when, in reality, you can and should.”
“Work hard play hard.”
“Coffee is always the answer. Study hard and drink coffee.”
“College is not as bad as people make it out to be. Time management plays a huge role, and if you can figure it out, you will be perfectly fine. It takes time to ease into, but once you find your happy medium with class, studying, sports, Greek life and all the fun stuff, you should be pretty well off.”
“Don’t be too stressed about impressing the people you meet in the first few days. It will become abundantly clear who your best friends are, and they will love you for who you truly are.”
“Make time to relax.”
“Be open to meeting people and be active and involved in as many different things such as dorm floor dinners, campus events, school clubs, etc.”
"You can be whoever you want to be, no matter who you were in high school. Choose wisely because first impressions mean so much."
So, as you step foot onto your college campus this fall, have these opinions in mind. Don't get stuck on the idea of homework and knowing your major, because as you can see, the "best four years of your life" are created by getting out onto your campus and finding yourself. You're on your own, and there's a lot to discover, so be open to it all and do the best you can to live it all up.
