As a freshman who just finished her first month of college, I can definitely say I was no exception to all the classic freshman advice you hear. Although getting advice beforehand is always helpful, it’s perfectly fine to navigate the classic college tips you’re given and experience them for yourself. The first month of college is new for everyone, and thus, you are bound to make some mistakes and “adulting fails” along the way, but it’s these learning experiences that will ultimately allow you to grow during this season. Here are some of the top lessons that my first month at UF has taught me…the hard way:
1. Your New Best Friends
Sneakers: You would have never seen me out of the house without some cute, high-top Nike shoes… That is until I did my first walk around campus. As much as I loved them, I was in pain the rest of the night after walking in those flat-soled shoes. Thankfully, I found my holy grail of walking shoes, Sketcher’s Arch Fit. Whether it’s these shoes or another kind of supported sneakers, walkable shoes are a must.
Noise Canceling Headphones: You’ve heard all your life the ear-piercing “shushes” when you so much as breathe too loudly in a library. However, you can throw that lesson out the window when walking into the 1st floor of UF’s Martson library. My Zoom class and my base model Airpods fought a losing battle against the uproar of talking. That’s when I began to use my noise-canceling Bose Headphones and they’ve never left my bag since.
Umbrella: As a native Floridian, I’m no stranger to the ever-changing weather. However, 18 years of living in Florida still hadn’t taught me the importance of an umbrella until my first week at UF. I went to a tabling event with clear skies and the moment I was ready to head back to my dorm it started pouring. With no umbrella, I took off my shoes and just ran to my building. However, as soon as I got inside, I slipped and fell backward, soaked from the rain. Long story short, never leave your dorm without an umbrella.
2. The Freshman Flu Is Real
“I don’t go to frat parties.” “I take my vitamins.” “The college cold won’t get me.” Wrong. The Freshman Flu is real and it’s coming for you. I’m writing this right now as one of the most recent Freshman Flu victims. However, being stuck in bed typing away on this computer, this cold taught me that there are some things beyond planning that just happen, whether it’s good or bad. Therefore, give yourself some room in your life that allows things like that to happen. Don’t overbook your days, don’t leave all of your work until the last minute, and don’t forget to live in the moment. And most importantly, don’t forget to take care of yourself when the freshman flu comes knocking at your doorstep… or dorm room.
3. Change. Your. Major.
60%-80% of college students end up changing their major: Those eye-rolling statistics our advisors always tell us to reassure us that there’s nothing wrong with changing the entire trajectory of our education and our lives. However, as I was sitting in my advisor’s office in my first meeting, it turned out that after four years of journalistic aspirations, I didn’t want to major in Journalism anymore! As I’ve begun to undergo the process to switch to Public Relations on the Pre-Law track (and become yet another sucker to this statistic), I’ve experienced the advice of not confining yourself to what high school you thought you wanted to be. In college, you will grow to become tremendously different from your high school self and you may learn new things about yourself along the way. Don’t allow yourself to feel trapped in the decision of a major you made in the past if that decision was not for the person you are today.
4. Ask for Help…We All Need It
Getting sick as a freshman for the first time was an overwhelming experience attempting to navigate how to get the proper care of it. It was a Monday morning, and I was scrambling to communicate with my teachers, get in contact with my doctor, and get my prescription, all while wondering if food or rest for my sickness would even fit into this hectic morning schedule. It was that moment of hitting rock bottom mentally and physically when I called one of my friends desperate for any kind of help. She ended up being the biggest blessing I could have asked for in that moment and slowly but surely, everything began to get figured out.
However, she couldn’t have known I needed help if I didn’t speak up for myself and asked. As a freshman in college for only a few weeks, no one expects you to have everything figured out perfectly on your own. You shouldn’t have that expectation on yourself either. Asking for help isn’t a sign of failure but a sign of humility and strength that you recognize that you can’t do everything on your own but you seek ways to proactively accomplish it.
5. Constantly Give Yourself Grace
Two days ago, I went to brush my teeth, and I brought soap instead of toothpaste. Two weeks ago, I made chicken and took a nice bite of a pink, raw inside that was significantly undercooked. In the first week of school, my first attempt at the bus system dropped me off in a sketchy neighborhood and a nearby cop had to show me the way to the grocery store. At the end of the day, I’m a college freshman, bound to make mistakes as I navigate through my first semester of living on my own. So, to any freshman who feels discouraged or inadequate, remember that you’re not the only one making these mistakes. Continue to give yourself grace and room to learn from these mistakes, for it is through them that you can truly grow from your experiences.