Now that I have officially finished my first year of college, I realized that I made a lot of mistakes before I finally figured it out. So I am writing my top six tricks and tips to survive your first semester of college to make the transitions between high school and living at home and living away from home easier. I am not saying you won’t make any mistakes cause you will ( I know I did and I watch every college video I could find) but hey at least you will learn from me. So let's get started

1.Don’t get attached fast

Now I know it sounds horrible. For a lot of people college is about making forever attachment to friends, S.Os, etc. There will be attachments that you will make in college that you will leave with, but the one thing you have to remember is that you have just left high school and so have most of the other freshmen. For some getting over high school behavior is an immediate thing after graduation and for some it will take a few months. There will always be the select few who never seem to leave high school. So when you go to Orientation just remember this fact, you will meet people and you will form connections, but just like the title says: don’t get attached too fast.Give it a few weeks.

2. Chill Out

Studying is what we are all here for and most people either study too much or too little. What people don’t realize is that it is possible to study wrong. Now hear me out. I am not talking about study methods. I'm talking about how long you study. Everyone needs breaks right? Like if you are working an 8 hour shift you would expect a lunch break right? Same with your brain. You need to give your brain a break. It doesn’t have to be long, but frequent short breaks every 30-40 minutes would be the best. As long as it is steady increments you should be fine ( this is in my experience, I am not a doctor). Listen to some music or watch a short webisode or one episode from a show ( if you can). Anything that isn’t related to the subject you are studying.

Netflix on the other hand is an interesting subject and the reason I paired it with studying, well it’s a little obvious. Netflix is the biggest thing that can distract me from studying and homework. In the same token I also like to study with Netflix or music in the background. Usually a favorite show that I have watched a lot, so I won’t get distracted. Anime lovers don’t do it. Trust me easiest way to get distracted is Crunchyroll. Been there and didn't do it.

4. Take Care of yourself

You got homework that needs to be done, or work, or club activities, but the one thing you might forget to do is chores. Yes, I know you’re not living at home, mom isn’t there over your shoulder with a list of tasks. It’s a freeing experience until you end up freaking out of a dust bunny that rolled over your foot because you thought it was a bug or your mom comes to visit. Life happens and sometimes your dorm doesn’t have good vents or filters and you cannot go half a week without sweeping. There are things you need to do such as laundry, vacuuming/sweeping/mopping, changing your sheets ( once a week), dusting, washing dishes ( immediately), throwing away old food, grocery shopping, etc. These things need to be done and when you got your room in check other things begin to follow. Me days are also apart of taking care of yourself this isn’t just for girls it’s also for boys too. Do something that makes you happy, take a night (after you get your stuff done) and just do it. Plan it with some friends or do it on your own it's up to you. Trust me it makes a difference when you are stressed beyond belief.

5. Cozy not Pinterest

So I know we have all seen those dorm room pictures everywhere in ads, and all over social media. Try as you must you mostly will never get that room. That is a fact. First I have no idea where they found the dorm rooms for those pictures. No dorm room I have ever seen looks like that. Second getting the stuff in that room is expensive. D.I.Ys are a great option but not everyone is crafty or have the products needed just lying around to use.

Third, that's a lot of work. I mean you have to move all that stuff in with or without an elevator and put it up. Now don’t let you transfer rooms because you have to move that and reset up. Those rooms are pretty but they are more of a guideline of what you want your room to look like. You want your room to be cozy. If you saw a picture with a lot of pillows and you don’t like a lot of pillows on your bed at home don’t buy the pillows. If you saw a picture and it didn’t have a tapestry and you like the way it looks then buy it. It’s your room (unless your sharing then it's mostly yours) and you have to make it comfortable for you. You will probably spend a lot of time there so you got to love it. Mix and match themes and colors and template pictures till you get the one you want.

6. Make the best of it (I know…)

So you hear this or have seen this tip everywhere. I mean it the most stereotypical phrase ever. That's why we say it because it works. You can make or break your college experience. You stay in your room all the time and don’t talk to people in class, you will have a hard time making friends. You don’t have to be a social butterfly or change who you are. Just take a risk. Not a safety risk, but visit a club you wouldn’t go to or a school sponsored event, talk to someone new.

Experiment and explore. You might even end up find a passion or changing your major to something you never knew you loved. Don’t knock it till you try it (with reason ) and get out of your comfort zone ( again within reason). You are young and have time (and maybe no money) so enjoy it.

You only get to live your underclassmen freshman experience once. Enjoy it while it lasts but don’t let it define you. You have 7 more semesters (or 6) do it right, do it safely, and do it without giving up on yourself cause nothing is worth that.