College life is way different than high school. You're on your own! No parents to boss you around and tell you what to do. They do not have to know where you are all the time as they did when you were living at home. There is just so much more opportunity to meet new people, try new things (well not every new thing if you know what I mean), and just find yourself. This first year of college is great for some people, but maybe not so great for others. I am going to talk about some of the things that I have learned as I have finished only the first year of this four year journey people call college.
I am going to start off by saying, I did not think I would miss my parents as much as I did. Yes, it is great to have that freedom and be on your own. Sometimes, though, I just felt like something was missing. I just felt like I needed to talk to them. I even found myself, at times, calling Mom or Dad to ask them about something just because I wanted to hear their voice. I know a lot of you will say that you will not feel this way, but trust me, take advantage of the time spent with them and call them as much as possible!
Secondly, I learned to not be so hard on myself and just let some stuff go. It is college! Classes are way harder and there is a lot more to juggle. I am very hard on myself academically and athletically, and I do not like to get anything below an A. The first semester, I stressed myself out to a point of tears because I thought I was going to get a B in a class. I learned that one B is really not so bad. I learned that spending time stressing over that one B was pointless. I put everything I could into that class. I studied, did all my homework, even went to office hours. I did end up getting an A, but I finally realized that it is not worth stressing over it that much! So do not be so hard on yourself. Sometimes you just have to let some of that stuff go if you know you gave it your all.
Lastly, I learned that college is about opportunity and adventure. You are here for an education, and that education and the money being spent for it should not be wasted. However, it is not all about the education. This time in college is precious. I learned to take those once in a lifetime opportunities that are presented during this time. There will only be so many girls' nights out and so many late night adventures during these four years. So take every chance you get! It will be worth it. Something I wish I would have done more this semester is meet more new people. I am on the volleyball team and have 13 really good friends, but I would also like to branch out more. It is what you're supposed do!
So that is what I learned from my first year of college. It was a great year with some of the best people, but I feel like I can make the next one even better! Stay tuned!
