Hi new freshman,
Congrats! You got into a nice college and are ready to begin a new chapter of your life! You've probably seen lots of advice articles geared towards you already. They tell you not to bring too much junk to your dorm room, and whatever you do, do not schedule an 8:30 a.m. class (which, by the way, whatever you do, do not schedule an 8:30 a.m. class). As true as those articles may be, I hope in writing this I can give some more personal advice.
The following is what I would tell my past self, if I could.
First of all, focus on building friendships, rather than seeking romantic relationships.
I get it. High school was full of awkward, annoying teenagers that you've known for years, and college is a new giant pool of interesting, attractive potential lovers. It's totally fine to be excited about that, but friendships are the strong, caring relationships that are going to help you through college.
The summer before I came to Miami, I meet another incoming freshman and we began dating. It was so new and exciting for me, and I really associated that relationship with my new college experience. I was head over heels infatuated with this kid. Since I "had him" and deemed him so important, I was primarily interested in spending time with him. As a result, friendships almost fell off my radar, and I felt empty and bored when I couldn't see him. Not only is it super unhealthy to rely primarily on one person for your emotional needs, but when we broke up, I felt totally alone and out of place. I hadn't even bothered to introduce myself to most of the people in my hall, and I regretted it big time. You don't have to be best friends with the people next door, but at least say hi so it isn't awkward when you see them in a bath towel and slippers. It may take you a while until you find people you really connect with, and that's OK, but do make the effort from the beginning.
Secondly, you'll have pretty much everything you need, but it may not be that great.
My easiest example of this: food. Yes, you will have a meal plan and through which you, technically, have access to enough to sustain yourself. And it might not be so bad at first, but trust me, there will come a point when you will not want to eat at a dining hall twice a day for weeks on end. So get yourself a job, save some money towards those scary student loans, and use the rest to treat yourself to pizza or Chipotle a couple times a week. Go to the grocery store. And make friends with an upperclassman, so you can occasionally go to a dwelling with a kitchen and a private bathroom and multiple rooms you can actually walk through without carrying your student ID, for god's sake.
And finally, don't go crazy, but it's okay to have some fun too.
I saw a lot of people who jumped at their first chance to be "adults" and took it upon themselves to go out as often as possible. To this group, I would say chill, because really, you have plenty of time. You will have time to party and do whatever else you want to do, so don't worry about squeezing your teenage rebellion into Welcome Week. Please don't become an alcoholic by the time you're 19. On the other hand, you don't have to stay in your room all the time like I did during my first year, weary of being like the aforementioned group. You can go to the club with your friends once and a while, it doesn't make you a bad person. There is a happy middle ground.
So to my new Miami family, and all universities' incoming freshman, I wish you the best of luck. Oh, and if you don't like the taste of coffee, you might want to work on that. Maybe join a club or something too. And remember, whatever you do, do not schedule an 8:30 a.m. class.
