10 Things I learned Freshman Year of College
Hello, friends! Freshman year of college has flown by! It's so insane to think how much I have changed over such a short amount of time. I sure have learned a lot so I thought I would share some of those things with you. Enjoy!
1. Take your syllabi seriously--I used to laugh at all the stories my dad (a college professor) would tell about his students always asking him questions that could easily be answered by reading their syllabus, but here I am nodding in agreement. I cannot stress enough how important it is to read each syllabus you receive carefully and thoroughly. It will answer a million questions you will want to ask, but if there is something not in the syllabus or you have a question about the syllabus, then ask your professor.
2. When in doubt, go workout--First off, I am grateful for my roommate for pushing me to go workout more. Without her motivation, I would not be exercising as much as I do. Seriously, working out makes you feel so much better. Whenever I have a bad day or if my day was the best, going to the gym always makes me feel a lot better. Go and see what your campus offers in terms of fitness classes or what types of exercise equipment they have and find what works for you. Since I am quite small, I tend to do light weight on machines as well some cardio on the bikes or treadmill in addition to light stretches. I usually only stay at the gym for 45 minutes to an hour.
3. Sometimes, pizza is the answer--As much as I try to eat healthy and workout a few times a week, sometimes you just need some good old pizza. My roommates and I have a pizza night every once in a while if we had a particularly tough week. It is a nice treat and has become a little tradition for us.
4. Always have your room key and student ID with you at all times--I cannot tell you the amount of times either myself or my roommate has been out around campus and realize they left the room without one of these things. I have fallen a victim to this when my roommates were all out of town and I got locked out of my room and had to call the housing office to let me in. I keep both of these things in my wallet and carry in my backpack at all times so that I never forget it.
5. Carry snacks in your car at all times--This was a very specific lesson we learned the hard way. We had traveled out of town to our class at another university that is about 2 hours from where we live. Well, there was a huge accident and the traffic was awful. We were stuck in the same spot for over 3 hours without food or water. It was honestly the worst thing ever. Now, we keep a huge bag of food in one of my roommate's car's so that we are not left starving like that ever again.
6. Blackboard/school email is going to become your best friend--I always try to check both of these places at least once a day, if not more. Many campuses tend to send out important information (i.e. canceled classes or extensions on papers) that you do not need to miss. I have notifications for my campus email straight to my phone and my Blackboard account is bookmarked on my laptop so everything is easily available.
7. Don't be afraid to make friends with people in your classes--Besides my roommates, who are all my friends luckily, I have made some other good friends through my classes. It is so nice to have another person with you in a class so that you can study together or ask them questions if you don't understand something.
8. Sometimes it's okay to stay in your pajamas all day--The best days are spent in my bed with my laptop watching Youtube videos in my pajamas. But seriously, I can get so much done on my days off of class just laying in bed writing papers and doing some homework.
9. Growing apart from your high school friends is okay--College is a time of change for a lot of people and sometimes that means you grow apart from the people you were friends with in high school. This is not to say that you are not still friends with these people or that you can't maintain contact, but at some point, you will probably lose contact with at least one of your old friends. I know it can be really tough for some people to open up and make new friends in college simply because they were so close to the people they went to high school with. My advice would be to just to put yourself out there and be open to new people. I know from experience this is not an easy thing to do, but it is so worth it.
10. Take care of yourself--I know that something the burdens of being an adult can get you down and make you want to be lazy, but you still need to take care of yourself. Make sure you're drinking water and getting enough sleep and actually eating food that is good for you.
1. Take your syllabi seriously--I used to laugh at all the stories my dad (a college professor) would tell about his students always asking him questions that could easily be answered by reading their syllabus, but here I am nodding in agreement. I cannot stress enough how important it is to read each syllabus you receive carefully and thoroughly. It will answer a million questions you will want to ask, but if there is something not in the syllabus or you have a question about the syllabus, then ask your professor.
2. When in doubt, go workout--First off, I am grateful for my roommate for pushing me to go workout more. Without her motivation, I would not be exercising as much as I do. Seriously, working out makes you feel so much better. Whenever I have a bad day or if my day was the best, going to the gym always makes me feel a lot better. Go and see what your campus offers in terms of fitness classes or what types of exercise equipment they have and find what works for you. Since I am quite small, I tend to do light weight on machines as well some cardio on the bikes or treadmill in addition to light stretches. I usually only stay at the gym for 45 minutes to an hour.
3. Sometimes, pizza is the answer--As much as I try to eat healthy and workout a few times a week, sometimes you just need some good old pizza. My roommates and I have a pizza night every once in a while if we had a particularly tough week. It is a nice treat and has become a little tradition for us.
4. Always have your room key and student ID with you at all times--I cannot tell you the amount of times either myself or my roommate has been out around campus and realize they left the room without one of these things. I have fallen a victim to this when my roommates were all out of town and I got locked out of my room and had to call the housing office to let me in. I keep both of these things in my wallet and carry in my backpack at all times so that I never forget it.
5. Carry snacks in your car at all times--This was a very specific lesson we learned the hard way. We had traveled out of town to our class at another university that is about 2 hours from where we live. Well, there was a huge accident and the traffic was awful. We were stuck in the same spot for over 3 hours without food or water. It was honestly the worst thing ever. Now, we keep a huge bag of food in one of my roommate's car's so that we are not left starving like that ever again.
6. Blackboard/school email is going to become your best friend--I always try to check both of these places at least once a day, if not more. Many campuses tend to send out important information (i.e. canceled classes or extensions on papers) that you do not need to miss. I have notifications for my campus email straight to my phone and my Blackboard account is bookmarked on my laptop so everything is easily available.
7. Don't be afraid to make friends with people in your classes--Besides my roommates, who are all my friends luckily, I have made some other good friends through my classes. It is so nice to have another person with you in a class so that you can study together or ask them questions if you don't understand something.
8. Sometimes it's okay to stay in your pajamas all day--The best days are spent in my bed with my laptop watching Youtube videos in my pajamas. But seriously, I can get so much done on my days off of class just laying in bed writing papers and doing some homework.
9. Growing apart from your high school friends is okay--College is a time of change for a lot of people and sometimes that means you grow apart from the people you were friends with in high school. This is not to say that you are not still friends with these people or that you can't maintain contact, but at some point, you will probably lose contact with at least one of your old friends. I know it can be really tough for some people to open up and make new friends in college simply because they were so close to the people they went to high school with. My advice would be to just to put yourself out there and be open to new people. I know from experience this is not an easy thing to do, but it is so worth it.
10. Take care of yourself--I know that something the burdens of being an adult can get you down and make you want to be lazy, but you still need to take care of yourself. Make sure you're drinking water and getting enough sleep and actually eating food that is good for you.
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