Surviving My Freshman Year of College

It’s crazy to think that my first year of college is finally over. Time flies by more quickly than you could ever expect it to. It’s easier said than done, believe me. I’m told that phrase time and time again, yet it never seems as though it sinks into my brain. But thanks to heavens above, I survived.

My first year was actually an mind-opening experience. It had its ups and downs - no doubt. But those downs were nothing that couldn’t keep me down forever. Going into my first year, I thought that it would be kind of like high school, just on a bigger scale. But that wasn’t the case at all.

I got to pick out my schedule - and not just the classes that I get to take but the days and times, too. Something that I wasn’t really aware of. The greatest thing about my school is that I was able to start taking classes for my major and minor the minute I walked in the door. That’s something that not everyone else gets to do - not their freshman year of college at least.

I learned how to test myself a lot this first year. Whether it was trying to adjust to change of high school life from college life, having to go through the whole “making new friends” and meeting new people scenario all the time, stressing myself out constantly about life and other - I reached limits over things that I never knew I could. I learned about myself and my anxieties. I learned how to cope with things.

I’m not perfect. I make mistakes a lot - more than I like to admit sometimes. And that’s something that I learned to understand, accept and work through this year with the help of family and new friends I made along the way.

Friends. I thought it was going to be a lot harder to make some of those than it really did, to be honest. They are a great group of people that I met along the way; and they’ve definitely made my college experience better than I could have imagined it to be. So to all my squad out there - you know who you are - shoutout to you for being exactly you and taking me in. I love you all.

I’ve been able to take some great steps towards my future. I started writing for HerCampus (which you should really check out by the way because it’s great. *wink*). I figured out that I want to minor in public relations. That made me really excited. And I started this blog - something I never thought I would do until now. I’m excited to see what’s coming next for me.

My advice to surviving your first year? Just go for it. Be open minded and ready to learn about everything and anything. You may get knocked down a couple of times - but isn’t the greatest part of a hero’s story when they get back up and succeed beyond belief? You’ll do the same thing.

Never think any dream is too small. If it seems so, make realistic moves towards an unrealistic goal - it will become real. If you would tell me that I would be doing the things I am now my freshman year of high school, I would say you’re crazy. But let that be your driving tool to do better. Look for the bright side of things. And have fun.