When I started college this past fall, I had no clue what to expect! Everything was new and exciting; I wanted to do everything and meet everyone.

As a potential new sorority member, I had to come a week earlier than normal students because I was going through rush. This was very beneficial for me because I was able to walk around campus and find my classes without it being super crowded. I also met a lot of great girls through my small Gamma Chi group, who I was able to get along well with since we were all going through the same thing with. A “Gamma Chi” is a sorority member who disaffiliates from her sorority to lead a small group of potential new members through rush. My group all complained about getting up at 4 am to get ready, walking up and down Milledge Ave. in heels for hours, and getting dropped from our favorite sororities. These were some of my first friends at the University of Georgia, and we will always remember the rough rush week together.

When classes actually started, I was super nervous. I was told to make sure to get at least one person’s number and introduce myself to every professor. I don’t think I even knew what Groupme was until half way through the semester, which would’ve been very helpful to know earlier because of study guides, quizlets, and other studying resources that are provided by people in Groupme. I also couldn’t navigate the UGA website, eLC, for weeks. Typical freshman things, but it was scary not knowing everything and having to slowly learn the system.

Thankfully I was able to meet a lot of friends through my sorority, but I still struggled to meet people outside of greek life. My sorority gave me instant girl friends to hang out with and opportunities to navigate this new, slightly scary college experience with.

For me, fall semester consisted of getting lost on campus all the time and struggling through my lecture classes. I come from a small town with a small high school and small classes, so two hundred students in a class was a big adjustment.

So far, spring semester has consisted of meeting a lot of new people and focusing more on my classes. It seems like the more comfortable I’ve gotten around campus and with my classes, the more confident I am to talk to new people and make more friends.

Most people say that their fall semester is busier than their spring semester, but mine has been the opposite this year. I seem to have something going on every day from a review session to a doctor’s appointment to a sorority event. Which is good for me, since I function better when I’m actively doing things.

Almost everyone struggles their first semester with grades! Everything is new and exciting, but also scary and overwhelming. I definitely struggled with my classes in the beginning. My grades weren’t bad for my first semester, but not as good as they could’ve been and should’ve been. This spring semester is definitely where I’ve settled down and I am ready to do the work needed to achieve my desired grades.

My advice to any incoming freshman is that although grades are important, it isn’t the end of the world to get a bad grade. I guarantee there will be a class that you don’t do as well as you thought you would, but it is okay. As a freshman, there is plenty of time to get your grades up. Plus, there are a few courses that are designed to be hard and trip you up. Don’t sweat a bad grade just yet.