My freshman year of college was one giant learning experience. Aside from classroom learning, I also learned a lot about independence, time management, and what kind of person I hope to become. While all of these personal learning experiences contributed to my freshman year, the most important lesson that I learned had nothing to do with myself and everything to do with the people around me.

Now, I'm sure that you are wondering what this lesson could be possibly be. I could sit here and try to answer this question with some lengthy and "profound" explanation, but I am not going to do that. Instead, I am going to answer this question with one simple, yet significant, word.

Kindness.

Be kind to everyone that you meet in college.

Be respectful of people's different backgrounds, viewpoints, and goals.

Be aware of what you say, because even "harmless jokes" can be offensive.

Be open-minded; take the time to get to know people rather than making assumptions.

Each and every person on your college campus has their own story. When you meet a person, you are seeing them at one moment in their life. This experience is similar to that of walking into a room and seeing a paused movie screen. Yes, you can likely gain some insight into the movie just by looking at the paused screen, but you have no idea what storylines came before that exact moment.

When you first meet people in college, you learn their faces and their names, but you do not learn their stories. You do not understand the context of their lives, nor do you what experiences have shaped them into who they are today.

You do not know if someone lost a loved one, or how that tragedy impacted them. You have no idea who has suffered from a traumatic experience, serious illness, or mental health disorder. You are unaware of the details of people's family lives or current financial situation.

You do not know anything about the people that you meet except for their name and their immediate appearance.

Knowing this, I hope that incoming freshman (or anyone for that matter), make an effort to keep in mind the importance of kindness. After all, "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." -Aesop