... Besides, of course, that there is a difference between fabric softener and detergent.
1. You will only make friends if you want to make friends.
This seems obvious, but in a new, intimidating environment full of strangers who come from completely different places, viewpoints, and values than your own, it can be easy to put walls up. My advice: don't observe. You pay too many thousands of dollars to live through someone else's college experience. Involve yourself in conversations, be the first to say hi in the bathroom or a hallway, introduce yourself, and look for opportunities to meet people wherever you go. The first few weeks of freshman year are this weird gap in time where people are more friendly and outgoing than they will ever be again, so take advantage of it. Be part of it! Everyone else is just as nervous as you are, but if you fake it until you make it, you'll meet so many new people that will become so important to you down the road.
2. Nobody cares who you were in high school. Literally nobody. At all.
If you're like me and really didn't care much for high school, this is great news. College is the perfect time to remake yourself and learn who you want to be. Even if you really liked high school and how others perceived you there, your time away from home and in a brand new environment will help you become more confident in yourself and more sure of your own beliefs and values. It doesn't matter what your GPA was, whether you were in the band or on the field, whether you were prom king, or how many detentions you got. What matters now is how you treat people and how your personality fits with others'.
3. Many of your first college friends might not last all year, but that doesn't mean they weren't important.
It may take you a long time to find your people in this new place, but the journey of finding your friends is fun and eye-opening. In college, you meet so many different types of people from so many different backgrounds. Even if you end up not talking to the girl you sat next to at orientation, or the guy who helped you find your first class, ever again, your paths' crossing wasn't for nothing. If you have the right mindset, every person you meet - whether they become your best friend or just a kid you used to have biology with - teaches you about yourself and about what you look for in other people. You will learn what you value in friends and what makes someone important to you.
4. You will get Cs. You will.
It doesn't matter how many honors classes you took or how meticulously you take notes. You will inevitably get questions wrong, forget a deadline, or not raise your hand enough in class. It happens to everyone, and it will be just fine.
5. You will pull an all-nighter.
I don't know about you, but I love my sleep. Pulling an all-nighter has always sounded horrible and I have never had any desire to do it. But when finals season hits, you might not have a choice. Stock up on espresso shots and crank down the temperature to stay awake. More advice: it's way easier to stay up until you can't see straight if you have friends suffering through it with you.
6. The dining hall food is not the best.
Yeah, I really thought that college food would be amazing. Buffet-style? Soda fountains? Salad bar? I set my expectations way too high and that just ended in disappointment. Dining hall food will by no means kill you, but don't enter college like I did with the silly thought that every meal would be like having endless courses at a fancy restaurant.
7. You will fail if you don't work.
Unlike high school, college professors do not care if you don't show up to class. They don't care if you take notes, if you pay attention, or even if you like their teaching style. (There are exceptions, of course, but this generalization applies to many professors at universities across the country.) It's up to you to pass. You have to figure out what to study, when to study it, and how to study it. You won't get study guides or printed out flashcards, and you definitely won't have practice tests a week before the real thing. Failing a course is deceivingly easier than it first seems.
8. The little moments end up meaning the most. Be present.
Eating subs on the dorm room floor with your roommate at 3 a.m.? Trying a spin class for the first time and not knowing what you're doing at all? Trudging in the snow to a routine dining hall meet up with your friends? Even the seemingly mundane aspects of college living will be priceless looking back. When summer comes, you'll miss sitting around in your floor lounge complaining about homework.
9. Even if you didn't drink coffee before college, you will end up chugging it daily.
I don't make the rules. I recommend starting with iced coffee. One day you can build up to dark roast hot coffee with four shots of espresso, but that's not until your first all-nighter.
10. This is the beginning of the best of your life.
Freshman year will be what you make of it. This is one of your few chances to seize control of your social life, your academic career, your self-confidence, and your future. Don't worry about what other people will think. Years from now, you won't remember what was said about you or what you were afraid to do. You'll remember what you said and what you had the courage to do.
