As we all start moving away from home to college, there are a million different thoughts that rush through your head. At first, its all about how much you're going to miss your friends, then all you can think about is what you need to pack as you try not to forget anything, (Even though it's like impossible not to) then you finally get to school and realize you're back to being the smallest fish in the pond. There are tons of different activities set up for you to participate in and meet as many new people as you can, but you can't help but realize you don't know any of the faces around you. All of the upperclassmen are placed around the school to help anyone who has questions, or can't find where they're going, but you're still nervous. Suddenly, you remember how it felt to be 14 again as you entered high school for the first time. The comfort of being a senior and knowing exactly what to do and where to go no longer exists here, and its almost like you're thrown into the middle of the ocean as you try to make new friend in your new home. There is absolutely nothing familiar and comforting, but isn't that what you wanted? Isn't that why we all leave for college? Of course it can be terrifying and make you nervous, but after all, how else are we going to finally be on our own and discover who we're supposed to be?
All of us freshman are in this together as we frantically run from building to building and check our maps just to try to find our class before you're noticeably late. Then finally, you give up on finding it yourself and ask someone who looks to be older than you for directions to your building. Unlike high school, though, college students don't usually lie to you and laugh as you head the opposite way that you should have gone. There's no punishment for being late to class, so you never have to worry about the embarrassment of detention, you just simply walk into class late and sit down. When class is over, you worry about what you're going to do for lunch, or even later that night since you don't have any close friends to run to. Of course, you end up forcing yourself to go out because no one wants to sit in their dorm and wonder what everyone else is doing, or miss out on any of their college experiences. Throughout the day it's almost like they're just shoving you from place to place with all of these mandatory meetings and ceremonies, when all you really want to do is go find someone you know and get food. But overall, being a freshman is a good thing. It means starting somewhere completely new, finding a different friend group to call yours, experiencing those college memories everyone always talks about, getting away from home, being on your own for the first time, and even just throwing yourself into new things you would have never expected yourself to be into a year ago.