Coming out of a small private school in my quiet hometown, I had no idea what college would have in store for me. I was leaving classmates that had become best friends, coaches and teachers that had become mentors, teammates that had become family, and a school that had become home.
It was the literal transfer from big fish in a small pond to small fish in a big... ocean. My introverted self had grown so comfortable with the high school environment and with my small circle of friends. I quite honestly was not all that ready to leave.
Move-in day brought with it a flood of overwhelming emotions---nervousness, excitement, anxiety, fear, curiosity. As I sit in this now empty dorm room again on move-out day, I feel nostalgic realizing just how much I learned and experienced through the ups and downs of my freshman year, and I feel led to share just a few.
First off, find your support group. College is cool because it holds so much diversity, so many different backgrounds and beliefs, activities, and interests. Find where you belong, find the people or the group that makes you happy to wake up and begin each day, wherever you truly feel comfortable. This could be a small group through a local church, sorority sisters or fraternity brothers, teammates in collegiate or intramural sports, or a few students you've bonded with in class.
Furthermore, cling to this support system for encouragement when little things do not go as planned or for guidance when life likes to throw those curve-balls your way.
Secondly, get involved. For those of you that were super involved in high school, I encourage you to continue that on in college knowing the impact it made on your high school years. For those that were not as active in high school, let college be your challenge, your chance at redemption. With clubs and organizations based on all sorts of beliefs, hobbies, activities, and ideas, it will be easy to become a part of one that suits you.
Explore. Test out some different ones until you find the right one(s). Then devote your downtime to it--- you have more free time your freshman year than you would imagine.
Finally, understand that your college experience will be what you make of it.
The effort you put into each day you are given during these short four years in your life will be exactly what you get out. This applies to our education in that you rarely get things handed to you, but rather what you earn, what you deserve. In another perspective though, this applies to our lives in general. You have the ability to make college four of the best years of your life or four of the worst.
Therefore, choose to be happy, choose to be adventurous, choose to take the shots that you are given. Do not wait for college to become a great experience for you; go out and make it one.
