As an only child, navigating the beginning stages of college was so new to me! Even though I had friends who were older who helped me here and there, they had a very different experience than I did. They all went to big state colleges, while I was about to start at a very small liberal arts college. Also, at most of these big schools you know someone from your high school that goes there to help show you the ropes, but I was starting at a school smaller than my high school and I didn’t know anyone prior. If that sounds like something you are about to do, stick around and I’ll tell you all about my best choices and my biggest mistakes.
The first piece of advice I wish someone had given me was that , you do not need to be friends with everyone. But, on the flip side of that it is important to be respectful of everyone because all the people you will meet have had their own journey that brought them to where they are now. I am a textbook people pleaser and it was exhausting my freshman year trying to say yes to everything I was invited to and make sure I included everyone I had met. The main thing about friends in college is that you will be forced to judge their character based on very small interactions especially at the beginning, so if you happen to not be best friends with them, don’t feel like you will never find a best friend, because I promise you they are out there somewhere.
Another thing I would love to have told my past self is to get involved on campus! I know that sounds a little nerdy, but honestly joining different organizations on campus has been the best decision I could have made. If you are reading this, that means you probably know what Her Campus is, and maybe there is even a chapter at your school, so go join! Even if writing isn’t your thing, there are also components that involve social media and events. Even when it comes to writing it is all you, your style, your personality. I also am involved with two other organizations on campus, one of these is the Lynn Leadership Institute, which is very specific to my university, but there are tons of organizations that are similar all across the United States. Finally, as a second semester college senior I decided to rush to a sorority. I never really had thought of myself as a sorority girl or anything like that, but deciding to join has made my last semester of college so unforgettable and I wish I had joined earlier, but I know I will never regret deciding to join and meeting so many new people.
The last thing I want to tell my readers is that whatever you end up doing and accomplishing during college, don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s. It is so easy to look at what everyone else is doing on social media and wonder why your experience doesn’t look the same. But just because what you may be doing is different, it doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
So please, do what makes you happy and don’t worry about how others may perceive it!