It's August once more—you're either in a super excited trance or in extreme panic mode. The latter definitely applied to me this time last year, absolutely no number of days put in between me and move-in day was a comfortable amount.
Summer Orientation (Summer-O, as we all like to call it) had me at a high. I was beyond excited to meet new people, live on my own and make my own choices. As soon as the days starting dwindling down, though, anxious and irrational thoughts started to kick in.
What if my roommate is a nightmare? What if I gain 15, no, 20 pounds? Will all of my white clothes turn pink in the washer? What if I can't keep a certain GPA and I lose my scholarship?
Looking back, I wish I'd known how ridiculous I was being. Hopefully, if you're stressing like I was, this letter will help you calm down.
I'm going to start off with: Breathe.
Sure, you're moving into a brand new environment. The bed in your dorm isn't as comfy as the one in your house, and your sock drawer isn't as neat as your mom made it for the past 18 years. This is all overwhelming, but believe it or not, you're going to be fine. Breathe.
As far as your living situation goes, don't try to make your roommate your best friend.
In a dorm room, it's best to let things take their natural course. The last thing you want to do is dread coming back to your room at the end of the day, due to a broken relationship between you and your roomie. If you end up being really close with your roommate(s), that's great! If not, don't freak out. There are plenty of other fish in the sea—students on the quad, whatever you want to call it.
Classes, work and exams: they’re only as hard as you make them.
Although procrastination might be a lifestyle, pull your crap together. Taking just a little bit of time to get organized makes all the difference in the world. Saving your work and study-time until the last minute is a really hard habit to kick—but it’s 100 percent worth it to try getting rid of. Just promise me that you'll try doing it first semester, rather than the week before finals.
On the topic of procrastination: Netflix is not your best friend.
In fact, it’s your enemy. It’s tempting, everybody knows that. It’s only when all of a sudden you want to spend all of your time with it. When you’re hooked, your priorities are in a straight up mess, or just thrown completely out the window.
Your papers become less important, classes are spent thinking about what happens next on "Pretty Little Liars," and your daydreams are about when you can next crawl into your bed and press 'continue watching' on "Orange Is the New Black."
Binge watching is a disease. Take every college student’s word for it.
Now, because you're so willingly going to avoid abusing Netflix privileges like I suggested, don't be afraid to go outside.
In other words, step out of your comfort zone and get involved. You're going to meet some really great people whether it be by doing something extracurricular like a club, sport or service group, or just going out on the weekends with new people. Making friends is a part of the adjustment process, so embrace it.
As far as the adjustment process goes and your potential anxiety: you are not alone.
If you're having a rough time adjusting, stop paying attention to the Instagram posts and Snapchat stories of your friends at different schools having an amazing time. As I said before, no matter how you feel or what you're thinking, know you are not alone. Everyone gets a little homesick sooner or later, and everyone goes through the first semester adjustment process differently.
Also know that when you make a mistake, it's not the end of the world. You're not a child anymore, but you're not a full-fledged adult just yet, so don't panic.
College is a time for exploring and testing things out, so you're allowed to make mistakes and learn from them like there's no tomorrow. Just don't push it.
Lastly? For god's sake, eat your veggies.
