Freshman fall quarter is the start of a new beginning and a new life. If you’re anything like me, this is the time you’ve been thinking about since senior year of high school began, if not since high school began. There are some amazing things about freshman fall quarter but unfortunately, there are also some not-so-amazing parts.
Pro: New Friends
What I looked forward to most about college when I was in high school was the abundance of new friends I would soon encounter. In fact, when I was choosing a college, one of my major criteria was the ability to make a brand new friend group. I wanted to know few to no people at my future school, which is exactly was I got. This was great because it pushed me out of my shell and expanded my circle of friends exponentially.
Con: New Friends
Unfortunately, when I arrived at school, I soon realized that I knew literally no one. During my first few weeks, I would have killed to just see a familiar face. At times the loneliness was overwhelming and I yearned for just a minute with my high school friends.
Pro: No Parents
Like many college freshmen, fall quarter is the first time I lived away from my parents. For fairly obvious reasons, this rocked. No one could tell me not to go out on Thursday night…or Tuesday night, or even Sunday night for that matter. This was independence like I had never experienced before.
Con: No Parents
With great independence comes great responsibility. No one is there to remind you to get a flu shot or go to bed before 2 AM. At this point in my life I would consider myself to be fairly responsible, but that’s not to say I didn’t make some classic freshman fall quarter mistakes. When I could barely make it out of bed for my 9 AM class, I realized that maybe going out that Thursday night wasn’t such a good idea.
Pro: Choosing Classes
One of the aspects of high school I disliked most was how I was required to take many classes I simply wasn’t interested in. Because of this, I was ecstatic that I could choose to take classes that intrigued me. The fact that I could potentially not take a math class nearly brought me to tears of happiness.
Con: Choosing Classes
There are so many options for classes in college. As someone who is impressively indecisive, it’s no surprise that I struggled with this. I’m a tad embarrassed to admit how much time I spent in front of my laptop playing around with my schedule before registering. And this is not to mention the immense stress of actually getting the classes I planned on registering for. When registration opened for freshmen, many classes were already closed, making registration intensely competitive.
Pro: Parties
Let’s just state the obvious: parties are fun, especially when you’re a freshman who is new to the college party or frat party scene. They are an aspect of college that most members of the freshman fall quarter demographic look forward to—and for good reason.
Con: Parties
There are so many parties that sound like they will be the best night of your life and, as a result, it feels difficult to miss even one. However, it’s all too easy for parties to take over a freshman’s life. Something as seemingly trivial as going to a couple parties can easily take away from school work, or lead to even worse consequences.
Pro: Independence
My favorite part of freshman fall quarter has been the amount of independence I have. It is like nothing I have experienced, and it feels good to make my own decisions and begin a life on my own.
Con: Independence
Occasionally, there will be times that the independence is simply overwhelming. There will be times of loneliness and stress, but that’s just part of the beauty that is freshman fall quarter.
