Advice From a College Freshman

Advice from a Freshman

With the load of schoolwork finally piling up and the euphoric feelings of summer slowly drifting away to our memories, why not talk about the excitement of college.

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Embrace Change:
From high school to college, the environment changes--it's not some small change either, it doesn't entirely hit you until you're alone in your dorm room after you move-in. Even then, you still are in this trance because you're about to be living alone with some complete stranger and more than likely you're screaming inside because of it all.
It may seem like the world is caving in around you, I promise, its not. Just accept and realize you're taking the next big step in becoming [more of] an adult.
College has its resemblances to high school. You still have a lot of homework, the cafeteria sucks and when a teacher asks a question, everyone is all stiff and quiet like a mannequin.
But, its not high school. You can't get away with not studying (don't try it, you will regret it). You will get the freshman 15 if you aren't careful. And professors are not as nice as high school teachers.
The Differences:
Now, you're probably sitting here wondering the differences that college has compared to high school. To start, you're living there, you could have your phone out and professors won't even say anything, and you spend an arm and a leg on books. I advise you use Chegg. You don't want to spend your whole bank account on books.

Do's and Do not's.
When you're in college, if you have free time, you better double-check and then triple-check that you don't have homework or some type of reading due. It is a very rare occurrence for you to have some free time. Sometimes, you're going to be so stacked with homework, you aren't going to know what to do.

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Don't slack off, I promise you it will be hell trying to come back from that. You don't want to set that tone early.
         Don't procrastinate, I mean it. Yeah, sometimes we get stuck scrolling through our Instagram feed drooling over Kylie Jenner's new post or the latest twitter drama. Do your homework and then scroll through social media. It will be there when you're done.
         Don't be afraid to go and explore things on campus. Clubs, campus ministry, service learning and trips to things like the Gateway Clipper.

Emotions:
You'll probably miss high school, I know I do. You will go on Snapchat and Instagram and see all your friends from high school having fun. It hurts because you aren't there to experience those memories with them.

Trust me when I say this though. College isn't all bad. There's a lot to get involved in. You meet a lot of new people. I know you're probably rolling your eyes now, I did the same thing when people tried to talk to me about my freshman year of college. They know what they're talking about.

To upcoming freshman or freshman still struggling with the whole college thing, good luck!