As summer comes to an end, it's time for a season of change. With that season comes a wave of new freshmen headed off to the best four years of their lives. College is going to be your home away from home for the next four years, and you never know who you might meet, which is exciting.
Orientation was one of my favorite parts about college. I was in a new environment, I had no parental supervision and I was finally ready to start this next chapter and really figure out who I was. As a college freshman, you are going to be super nervous for many reasons, but the main reason is that many freshmen go away for college. This means that you don't have your friends and family as close so you may feel alone.
My advice for you is to get involved in something that really interests you because this is how you are going to make new friends with similar interests. Meeting so many new people in college is exciting because these people are going to be your support system when you fail that test or break up with that boyfriend or girlfriend and need a shoulder to cry on.
These are the people that are going to be there as you both start to discover who you are as individuals.
As I reflect on my four years of college, I am definitely not the same person I was before I started. Before college, I was quiet, not confident, afraid to be myself and try new things.
Now, I am more confident than ever, and I love the man that I have become--I owe it all to those four years at Salisbury University.
In college, I was someone who enjoyed theatre but wanted to have friends with a variety of interests, so I joined the student government, a dance group and more. It's because of these groups that I was able to meet some really amazing people that gave me the best college experience. I'll have those memories forever.
Networking in college is also very important because you never know who someone else might know that could help you down the road with your career.
Above all, you are about to embark on the journey of your lives, and I know it seems scary. Trust me, it will be for the first few weeks, but then you'll be fine.
Go to college with an open mind, and you'll be fine. Try to meet as many people as you can and enjoy yourselves. This is going to be the time of your lives, and it only happens once. Trust me, by the time senior year comes around you won't want to leave.
Good luck and have a great semester!