As I packed up my dorm room to head back home for the summer, I started to think about move in day. I am such a different person now, than I was when I moved into this forced, triple dorm room in early September. At that time I was shy, I had a different hair color, and I was uncomfortable with myself. Now I am a louder, goofier and a happier version of myself. There are so many things that I have learned during my freshman year that have changed me. I am still not sure whether it is for better or for worse, but these changes have helped me discover who I truly am, and who I want to be. Here are some of the things that I have learned my freshman year of college:
1. Your parents were right all along.
No matter how much you do not want to admit it, everything your parents have been telling you all your life is true. For example, when they tell you that you’re going to miss your siblings, or (the one I always heard from my dad), “Boys are bad”--Yep these statements, I never thought would come true, did.
2. “Boys are bad”
In college you learn that there are guys that can be your very best friends, and guys that are just no good for you. The ones that are no good for you are the bad ones. In college I experienced my first real heartbreak. I learned that although that experience broke me for a while (I’m still trying to piece myself back together), the amount you learn from heartbreak, and attempts at love is more than you will ever know.
3. You're an adult now
Once living at school you realize no one is here to protect you all of the time. You have to fight your own battles, speak up for yourself, and protect yourself. You are the only one really looking out for just you now. So be smart, be yourself, remember who you are, and who you want to be.
4. You go to college for an education
Something that a few people seem to forget while being at school, is that we are here to learn. Yes, the social aspect of school and the experience of it all is life changing, but in the end school is most important. So if you have to stay in on a Saturday night to finish a paper do it. The work you put into the experience is what you will get back from it in the end.
5. You don't know how it's going to play out until you get here
Before you come to college you can dream of how it's going to be, but until you get here you will never really know. Roommate issues do happen. Thankfully for me that was not an issue, but for some of my friends it was. You will go through different groups of friends until you find the right ones, but when you do they will be the greatest friends you will ever have. Classes will be hard and professors will be intense. At times it will all feel like too much, but know you will get through it and it will all workout for the best.
6. You will lose some of your relationships from home, and that's OK
Keeping in contact with friends from home is going to be hard. No matter how strong your friendship is when you leave for school it might not make it. People get caught up in the excitement of school and sometimes forget about friendships from home. This new experience picks up so fast, and you feel like you cannot keep up. You will make time for, and talk to the people from home that are important to you. The friendships that you lose, that you thought would never go away may, and that’s OK. This does not mean your friendship was not valued or was taken for granted, it just means you are not meant to be friends at this point in your life.
7. You learn more about yourself in a few months then in your previous 18 years.
I know sounds crazy, right? Weird to think that you do not already know yourself like the back of your hand, but it's true. My freshman year of college I learned more about myself than I ever wanted to know. I learned that my reaction to everything is to cry, whether I am mad, sad or stressed. So yep, I’m a crier. It’s not something I am proud of, but I have learned to accept it.
