You left for college wide-eyed and bushy tailed convinced you would stay yourself throughout the next 4 years. It is possible that this happened, but college is a time for growing up, trying new things and searching to figure out who you are going to be in this mess of a world. Your life is suddenly flooded with invites to the amazing parties, a whole new level of stress from your classes and the unpredictability of everyday life in a town where you don’t know everyone. And worst of all you’re mom isn’t there to tell the neighbor girls that they have to play with you. College is great but it can also be scary. With my little sister less than a year away from taking off on her own adventure and leaving the confines of my parent’s home, I can only hope that life (and fraternity boys) treat her well. Praying (but knowing it is unlikely) that she never goes through those things that inevitably every freshmen experiences their first year in college.
Your First Real Heartbreak.
It hits you harder than you would ever imagine. You thought that high school boyfriend -that dumped you for that slut that slept with everyone on the baseball team- had really broken your heart, and maybe he had. When you are alone in a new town and you realize this boy you had trusted with everything that first year is not who you thought he was, it is really scary thing. The cute older boy who gave you so much attention that first semester (all of your high school friends were so jealous) screws you over, when you learn his girlfriend was just studying abroad. It will make you question what you are doing but don’t let it get you down on your self because you are so smart and awesome.
Mean Girls
I wish it were true, that when you leave for college you never have to encounter another mean girl again, but that is just not the case (If it is please tell me where you go to school!) Rumors will still spread, girls still gossip and mean things will get said about you behind your back. It will be okay because you are mature enough to know that those rumors are not true and even if they are… Who cares?!
Public Humiliation
There will be a time in college where it seems that you have hit rock bottom (that one for me involves a $200 Taxi ride home from Daytona, but that’s a story for another article) When you do hit that new low which will almost certainly involve alcohol- LOTS of alcohol- just keep your head up. It is sometime from these scary times that we learn the most about ourselves. While you may be nervous about ever leaving your room again just take a step back and look at how small that moment really was, and all you have in store for the future.
Staying On Track
College will present you with a million and five new opportunities. Which ones do you take and how many at once? It will take a long time to figure that one out and you wont get it right at first. Keep school the priority but also make room for some fun. Always remember who you are and what your morals are (this will be hard at times, I’ve found it is most difficult after tailgates) but surround yourself with good people who will make it less hard.
Lastly, It Will All Be Okay!
You will be hit with a lot of good advice before you leave home for college, and probably will listen to 2% of that advice. That is okay. Always know that even if you are minuets, miles or states away from home it is always okay to call home crying from McDonalds parking lot, with McFlurry in hand. Make your mistakes, gain the freshmen 15, make out with too many boys you will be okay. Regardless of how college treats you, know how much your family loves you.