Freshman year of college is the most transitional year in so many people's lives. It's a year of a numerous amount of changes, from a new home to new faces to endless new experiences. Going into it, you've probably formed some type of opinion about what your year is going to be like. Whether you got it from an MTV show or stories you've heard an older friend or your parents tell, many people go into college with an expectation of what their first year away from home will be like. Though you will never truly know what's ahead, there are many different things, good and bad, to expect your freshman year of college.
1. Feeling completely overwhelmed at first.
So your family has left, you've met and become friendly with your roommate, and now you're ready to start your life at school. Trying to navigate a brand new campus filled with thousands of people and tons of buildings is hard. Receiving a syllabus ten pages long outlining the high expectations your professor has is scary. Getting involved in time consuming activities, like Greek life, honoraries and sports, is a lot to handle. And it all happens at once, mixed in with a new social life you're trying to experience. Feeling overwhelmed is 100% okay and you will one day get used to your new life.
2. Lots of campus health visits.
Living on campus is so much fun and you're constantly around tons of people. But it's also very easy to get sick when you're constantly on the move and sharing small spaces with so many people. With constant parties, all-nighters you will pull at the library, and tons of junk food, your health will go south freshman year.
3. Random homesickness.
I knew I would be fine going to college across the country, as I've always been independent in high school. However, I cannot describe the little pangs of homesickness that used to take over me during the day. Whether it lasts ten minutes or an entire week, there will randomly be times, no matter how much you love your school, that you will long to be back at home, sitting on the couch talking to your mom. It just happens.
4. Changes in yourself.
You'll catch yourself saying things you used to not say, or doing things you used to not do. Everyday, you shape and grow into the person you're supposed to be, with mistakes on the way. Freshman year is a pivotal time for change and you will notice changes in yourself from the beginning to the end of the year.
5. Heartache.
College is not like high school. You're no longer in a bubble with your closest friends who are constantly having your back or dating the sweet guy from back home. People don't always have the best intentions, and in college, you'll find out quickly who you can and cannot trust. The people you meet the first week of school will not be your best friends, and that's okay. Your friendships from home will be tested with so much distance as well. As for boys, some will really suck, especially at this age.
6. Meeting the best friends you'll ever have.
With so many different people at your university, there's a myriad of friends you can make. When you're living on campus and spending so much time with certain people, you'll become closer than you ever imagined. You're meeting your lifelong friends and creating new memories with them every single day.
7. Feeling weirdly grown up.
When you realize you never have to ask permission to do anything in college, when you buy your own groceries for the first time, or when you take yourself to the doctor alone, you start to feel weirdly grown up in ways that you hadn't before. You become so independent and self-sufficent as you get closer and closer to being a real adult.
8. Pure joy.
Some days this year will be the best days you've ever experienced. You'll look back and appreciate your old life, but completely adore the life you have now.
9. Starting to feel totally at home.
Your dorm bed will become oddly comfortable and you've gotten completely used to walking everywhere on campus. You can't picture a day without your closest friends and you begin to call this campus home.
