Things I wish I had known when I started college
Being alone:
While entering college can be a really exciting time, it can also be extremely lonely. It sounds cliche, but you can be surrounded by a ton of people here and still feel like you are alone. And that is completely normal. I realized that I needed to learn how to do things by myself and enjoy my own company. Sure, there will be a lot of times when you’ll be able to do things with friends, but there will also be times when you’ll have to do things alone. Life got a lot easier once I got more comfortable doing my own thing.
Finding friends:
In the first week of college, I remember feeling like everyone had already made friends. In reality, people just latch onto each other in the beginning of the year, but rarely ever end up being the people you stay friends with. You’re not doing something wrong or falling behind if you haven’t met anyone yet or the people that you’re currently friends with aren’t what you were looking for. It takes time but eventually you will find your people.
Switching majors:
When I was first applying to colleges and was told some people switch their major several times, I remember thinking that that wouldn’t be me. I wanted to pick one and stick to it, not go through the hassle of having to meet with my advisor and switch it up. I, however, ended up really disliking the major I chose to go into my first semester. It got to the point where I was dreading going to class and wondered if college was even for me. At the beginning of my second semester, I decided to finally get over myself and switch to an English major. Suddenly, I found myself enjoying my classes and feeling a lot less stressed out by college. Where before the workload felt overwhelming, I now found it more engaging and manageable.
Finally, I always try to remember whenever I’m facing an obstacle or rough patch that it’ll all work out.