Everything always starts off great. You move into your dorm, meet your roommate, and participate in all that Welcome Week/Orientation has to offer for you. It's bittersweet as you have to say goodbye to your parents, but you all know that this is where you were meant to be. All your hardships and challenges have brought you to this point, and that's something to be proud of.
However, you know all of this before you step foot on campus. Friends who have ventured off to college before you will tell you about these fond memories of their first couple of weeks, and even in their first semester. But at some point reality settles in, particularly when you're a freshman girl away at college. Soon before long, you realize there are expectations set upon you that you didn't ask for. You'll be expected to go to frat parties and drink with all your friends because you're weird if you don't do that. You'll be expected to date that guy you've known for two weeks because he expected more from your friendship than you did. And finally, you'll even face that fine line between being a slut and being a prude which society has engraved into our generation's minds.
Don't get me wrong, college is great. You'll meet some of your best friends in your first couple of weeks on campus and at some point campus starts to feel more like home than the place you grew up does. But in the midst of societal pressures and even the Brock Turner case, to my fellow freshmen girls away at college, there's a few things I want you to keep in mind to ensure that you don't become the stigma that everyone jokes about.
1. You don't owe anyone anything.
2. It's okay to think about yourself first.
3. Don't ever forget where you came from; it's shaped you into who you are today.
4. Find a group of friends who accept who you are every day, not who you become on Saturday nights.
5. Try new things.
6. Have some self-respect, it will save you in the long run.
7. Don't put your drink down, no matter whose dorm or house you're at.
8. It's okay to call your mom and talk to her about anything and everything. She wants to hear about it.
9. That boy on the football team won't want you past Saturday night, don't believe every word he says.
10. You deserve to be here, cherish every moment.
Stay safe out there girls, and remember not to be the stigma. You're worth more than that.
