When I left home the summer before my freshman year of college, I had no idea what to expect. Sure, I had done a college visit, and had been on campus plenty of times before that, but I still was excited to see what it would be like. Living on my own was not what I expected it to be, so I'm here to share my advice.
My family was very close when I lived at home and we did almost everything together. The transition to living by myself was very lonely for the first couple of weeks and all I wanted was to be with my family again. I kept my head down and did what I was supposed to do.
On my first day in math class, though, I met my best friend. As soon as she walked through the door I knew that we would be really close. In the weeks to come, she introduced me to a lot of interesting people, and these people slowly became my family. So, what I'm trying to say is that it's important to find a squad in college, because without them it will be so much harder on you.
Something else I learned in college was the value of a dollar. My freshman year of college I had tried to budget what I spent my money on. It didn't come easy to me and I lived paycheck-by-paycheck. I realized that summer, though, that had I paid more attention to what I spent my money on, then I wouldn't be as stressed out about not having it. I learned to use the ads in newspapers to get the cheapest groceries (bulk goes a long way), and that my mom was so much better at doing it than I was.
Another thing that my mom was way better at than me was making dinner and planning meals. Usually, I just eat what I have in my fridge, but bowl after bowl of ramen noodles gets extremely boring. Variety in your diet is good for you, and you will never have a healthy body if you don't have a variety of foods. So, it is super important to appreciate your mom's leftovers when she sends them, and to eat a well-rounded meal at least once a day.
I had a hard time learning that it was okay to ask for help. I was a good student in high school and rarely had time to study. This led me to not knowing how to study in college, and I quickly realized that I needed help or my grades would really suffer. I asked a few friends to study with me, which relieved a lot of stress. I also realized that it was okay to ask your family for help (after all, it is what they are there for).
The most important thing I learned in college is that it is important to treat yourself with care, but to also be who you really want to be. In high school I was always part of a group or relationship, which led to me not knowing who I was when I wasn't with the people I already knew. It was hard to figure out but also exhilarating to break what I thought was normal. Because of this, I am more motivated to do whatever it takes to achieve my goals, which is hard on some people. It is important to treat your new self to something once in a while. Relaxing one day of the week will not kill you, I promise.
It's important to study but it is also important to relax once in a while. Appreciate your family while they are there because you won't get to see them very often. Find who you are when you are alone and love that person with everything you have. Don't be afraid to take a risk—it is part of adulthood, and you will always be able to fix your mistakes. The other things you will have to learn for yourself—this is simply my advice to you.
