For the first two months of school, my clothes were never dry. Now don’t get me wrong, I knew how to do my own laundry. But in sweet home Johnson of 1955, these washers were a little different from back home. Embarrassed from knowing I was doing something wrong, I never asked anyone why my clothes never seemed to dry. I mean, I had other things to worry about—like how to register for classes and learning the ropes of making the most of PIT creations, right?
After two months of ironing out hundreds of wrinkles, and whipping out the hair dryer to finish the job the drying machine failed to…I had an epiphany. Well, I didn’t exactly discover it on my own.
A friend on the football team came down to the laundry room to switch his clothes from the washer to the dryer. I watched, as he first placed the dryer sheet in, next tossing his clothes. Suddenly, under the door of the dryer he removed a long filter covered in dust, and proceeded to remove the film of dust. I asked him what exactly he was doing, and he looked at me, confused, saying, “Cleaning the filter… Your clothes won’t dry if you don’t empty the filter.”
I nodded, saying of course, while turning a shade of red.
Let’s just say I never used the hair dryer for my clothes again.
From which professors to avoid, how to do our laundry, and even just the basics of living life on our own—you learn a whole lot about life your freshman year of college.
Some lessons may come from mistakes, and others from observing those around you. Either way, the moment we wave goodbye to Mom and Dad, life hits.
Here are a few freshman life lessons from college kids around the country—see how many resonate with you.
“Things don’t fall into place immediately. It takes time to settle into things and figure out who you want to be and who your friends are.” – Emily DeFeo, Appalachian State University
“The people you surround yourself with will be the most important decision you make. Oh, and enjoy meal plans while they last.” – Bridget Newton, University of Kentucky
“Be yourself. Seriously. Performing to those around you isn’t life to the fullest.” – Hannah Padrnos, Wake Forest University
“Once you skip one class, it becomes a slippery slope to skipping more.” – Abby Deters, Grand Valley State University
“If you find something you’re interested in and truly love, school actually isn’t half bad.” -- Brandon Hawkins, Wake Forest University
“It’s OK to not be with a boy/girl, even though it seems like the cool thing to be able to say. Because no one really knows who they want to be at that age, especially when someone else could be unintentionally influencing that for you.” – Kristen Freeman, North Carolina State University
“Getting involved is super important, but be wise when choosing where to get involved… Also, roommates are tough. Compromise is key.” – Abbie Chapman, Colorado State University
“Success isn’t determined by grades.” – Peter Fabian, Wake Forest University
“Don’t run away when something is uncomfortable. It’s the uncomfortable situations that bring you to who you are and where you are supposed to be.” – Savannah Sowell, University of Tennessee Knoxville
As you can see, we learn a lot our freshman year of college. Yet, it doesn’t stop at freshman year. We learn something about ourselves every year, every month, and even every day. If I had to leave you all with one piece of advice from this reflective, quote-filled article, it would be this:
Don’t stop at freshman year. Continue to search for life lessons to take away from every experience you encounter.
At the end of the day, so often our wisdom doesn’t come from our textbooks or laptops. It comes from experiencing life, looking back on it, and searching for meaning.
Ask yourself this: Are you stopping in moments, and searching for meaning? Or are you coasting through life, failing to stop and find purpose?
