Your parents and family friends will tell you a lot about their college experiences and will forget to tell you how vital coffee and budgeting your money is. Take it from me, you'll make some mistakes, too. But that is all a part of your freshman year of college.
Here are 18 things I wish someone had told me about freshman year.
1. You're going to gain a little weight. Don't freak out about it.
2. Making friends is a lot easier than you think.
3. College is definitely harder than high school.
4. Netflix is going to be your best friend.
5. It's OK to turn down a party invite.
6. Studying is critical. Reading up on the study guide an hour before the test isn't going to cut it anymore.
7. BUDGET your money! It goes so quickly, especially when you don't have a job.
8. Naps will become more frequent than they were when you were a toddler, and you'll be so happy they do.
9. Be friends with people in your major. You already have a huge passion in common.
10. If you can't cook, chicken and rice are your best bet. Cheap and easy.
11. Try to achieve a balance between school and fun. Too much of one or the other will make for a stressful time.
12. Time management is key. Don't procrastinate!
13. Instead of soda, drink water. You'll feel better and get fewer headaches when you're working hard.
14. Try to work out often — even if it's just for 30 minutes two or three times a week. Make time for it. You'll have more energy when you have to wake up for that 8 a.m.
15. It's much harder to wake up for an 8 a.m. in college than for your 7:30 in high school. No one knows why. It just is.
16. Going to tutoring isn't embarrassing. What's embarrassing is failing a class when you had the option to get help, and you didn't take advantage of it.
17. If you don't like coffee, you better learn to like it.
18. Some all-nighters will be fun, some won't. You're going to have some nights that are filled with energy drinks and piles of homework and studying to do. To make up for those, you'll have some nights that you won't come home from a date or party until 4 a.m. Yeah, those are fun.
