Growing up, I could never quite picture what college would be like. The only points of reference I had were what my parents told me and the cliché movies I had seen. Those movies leave a lot out, which is to be expected since every college is different. Not to mention, they are usually set at large state schools, which is clearly going to be different in some ways from the small, private, liberal arts university that you chose. Still, whenever someone told me how amazing it was, I always believed it.

Since move-in day is less than a month away now, college is most likely the number one thing on your mind, and you probably have no idea what to expect.

Just trust me when I say that you made the right decision.

Less than 20 minutes after you move in and say your goodbyes to your family, you will be forced into an ice cream social with everyone in your dorm. It will be incredibly awkward, and while you will not befriend everyone you talk to that day, or during the rest of Turning Titan, there will be at least one or two friendships you make that will remain with you.

You will get sick of eating at Saga before the end of Turning Titan. And then you will get sick of the Dugout. And then pretty soon you will be so sick of Sodexo food that your stomach will physically pain you the first time you come home and eat food of real substance.

You will hear someone new refer to you as “their friend, so-and-so,” for the first time, and you will instantly feel happier.

You will realize that Wesleyan’s reputation for its challenging academics is no lie. Even if you were a great student in high school, you will find yourself staying up half of the night doing homework and studying for tests. You will also receive a grade or two that you aren’t thrilled with. Believe it or not, that’s a good thing; Wesleyan’s coursework is hard so that you are prepared for life after college, which you will be.

You will know at least one person who works at the front desk of your dorm, and so will everyone else. At least once a day there will be a crowd of people visiting their friend while they are working there.

If you go through recruitment, you will learn that the stereotypes portrayed through the media about sororities and fraternities are not true. Your sorority/fraternity will become your second family, your best friends, and will no doubt make IWU feel like home.

You will not only have friends in your house, but you will also make incredible friendships on your floor and through other activities. If you live in Funsell, the lounges will be where you will find yourself expanding your circle of friendships.

You will feel like everyone is either at IWU for nursing, biology, or music.

You will meet people from all different walks of life, and you will wonder how that one girl from California even knew that IWU existed.

Being that it’s such a small school, you will realize just how much of a community IWU really is, which is something that is hard to achieve on a large campus.

You will go home and realize just how much you missed your family, your own bed, and home-cooked meals.

But the first time you’re away from the same people who you’ve spent all of your time with at school (and now have a group chat with) is when you realize just how close you’ve all become.

You will find it hard to believe that the people that became your best friends were strangers to you less than a year ago.

And before you know it, you will be packing up your cell of a dorm to go home for the summer, realizing not only how much that tiny cell of a dorm meant to you, but how much you’ve grown since the day you moved into it.

If you don’t believe me, see for yourself in a few weeks. Congratulations and welcome to IWU, Class of 2020.