I had never done laundry a day in my life.
Living on my own was a true challenge at first. I stared at a full bin of dirty clothes and I knew it was time to learn how to do laundry. This seemingly daunting task made me so nervous, I had to FaceTime my mom to ask her which liquids went where. This wasn't the only thing that seemed to provide me with a rough time at first, however. To make a long list short, I had to start doing things like getting my own prescriptions, using an ATM and walking everywhere (a great source of cardio). Wild stuff. Also, a quick PSA: online ordering is extremely addictive, especially when you get a student discount. Spend your money wisely.
Speaking of money, it goes by SUPER quick.
After the first few weeks of my freshman year, I finally noticed that my money was dwindling away a little too quickly for my liking. Now, when I sat down and thought about what could be doing the awful deed, I considered my several trips uptown to Chipotle, my numerous Pizza Hut orders and my many online clothing orders. Yeah, that will do it.
I was a 4.0 student in high school. I got a 13% on my first college chemistry exam.
I'm just gonna say it. High school was my b*tch. All honors classes, National Honors Society, team captain, you name it. My GPA and resume were thriving; then I got to college. College chemistry, CHM 141, also known as Hell. I took notes, recorded lectures and went to help sessions, but nothing seemed to help. Then, the first exam rolled around, and I was extremely nervous, mostly because I had no idea what to expect. We sat down and got our packets, and I considered booking it out the door. We got our tests back the following week, and an ugly 13% stared back at me. I absolutely didn't know what to do. This had obviously never happened to me before. Two days later, I dropped the class. After that, my biology grade started going up. I finally started to feel like I was doing something right.
I have changed my major many, many times.
Freshman year would be so much easier if everyone came in undeclared. When I think more about it, its a little absurd that a 17-year-old me checked a box for a major without taking a single college class. I even changed this major multiple times, and that's entirely OK. From public health, to sports leadership and management, to zoology and the many other majors in between, I am happy to say that I have finally picked the right major for me: journalism.
To anyone else who finds themselves in my previous position, just know that there is hope! It took me two months to transition into the college life, and that is expected. My main advice: join clubs, talk to new people who you wouldn't usually talk to, smile lots and be extremely open-minded. That's the best way to get through your first few weeks. (Oh yeah, and try your best! That's all that matters!)
