I am happy that now I have the time to settle down and reflect on my freshman year. I know I haven't been keeping with the blog at all but hear me out. I was struggling a lot this past semester with classes, keeping up with my grades, personal life and many more things. My life got a little tough and I wasn't sure if I would continue this or not. These past two weeks however I realized I missed blogging and I'm back now.
In the past nine months I have learned more about myself than four years of high school ever did. You think you have it all figured out and then college happens.
- It's okay to call home; I don't know why we have in our heads that when we leave for school our parents don't want to hear from us. They want to know about your day, it could have been a day full of tests and doing homework and your mom still wants to hear about it. I called my mom almost everyday and sometimes it would turn a bad day into a good one. Call home when you want to because your parents miss you.
- Get to know people; I had picked a school that not many people from my high school were going to so it forced me to become friends with different people. You never know who can become your best friend.
- Get involved; Honestly you hear this over and over again and you don't realize how true it is until it happens. My first semester I wasn't involved and I had trouble adjusting to the school and I was thinking that maybe Longwood University wasn't for me. I was starting to look at transferring and then I told myself that I did need to become more involved, and if I still wasn't happy after, Longwood wasn't for me. I joined a sorority and that opened the door to so much more for me. I am now in love with my school, and it is true what they say about college, you get out what you put in.
- The freshman 15 is no joke; I have no idea how I avoided the full 15 pounds. It is so easy to get ice cream every night in the dinning hall and eat Cookout at 2AM, but you have to stay healthy. Indulge here and there, but whatever you do, do not stop going to the gym and staying fit. It's easy to gain weight in school but it's also easy to stay healthy.
- High school friends are different from college friends; Enough said. You'll understand this once it happens.
- High school friendships will end, that's okay; This was so hard for me to accept. I moved away from my high school after I graduated, and going to school with only seven other kids from my high school made it easy for me and my friends to drift away. I was upset when it all ended and really only two good friends stayed with me, but in the end I realized it happens. High school is over and sadly so are some friendships but it's okay. You meet so many different people in college that you would never find anywhere else. Go out and meet new people. It's one of the best parts about college.
- It's okay to go out, and it's okay to stay in; Some nights you'll want to go out with your friends and you should. Some nights you'll want to stay in and watch a movie, that's alright.
- Watch your money; This too is something I have trouble with, but in college I don't have job so I can't buy everything at the J.Crew extra 30% anymore. Sad, but make sure you aren't spending your money life crazy or else you will be a broke college student.
- Classes are hard; I feel like this should go without saying, but college classes are hard. In high school it was so easy to skip the reading and half-ass your homework. In college you need to stay ahead in your class, because even when you're ahead, you're behind. Do the reading, do your homework, study study study, and go talk to your professor. They are there to help you and want to help you. Work harder in college because it does pay off.
- You're going to change; I am not the person I was when I graduated last year and I am fine with that. I have started to realize the person I want to become and the only way to get there is to change. Embrace the new environment you are about to live in.
Before you know it the year is over and you're packing up your freshman dorm room and already making plans to see people over the summer.
