It happened. I’m sitting in a half-empty dorm room listening to Disney music, avoiding my last final, and trying to come to terms with the fact that I’m a quarter of the way done with my college career. When I talk to people about their freshman year, I find that they have a hard time defining it. We try to find the ways in which we’ve grown (and we have immensely) and attempt at quantifying lessons learned. This is nothing near complete. I wish I could thank all of the people who have helped me this year. I wish I could convey to all of you in completeness what I’ve taken away from this year. But I can’t. And that’s okay. What is important is not what we can put into words, but what we can put into action. I know I will do the second, but here’s my attempt at the first.
You Create Your Own Destiny…
Freshman year brings us so many opportunites. We have more freedom than ever to choose what we are involved in and who we can interact with. Each moment is one of decision. Some of these are small and some of these are large, but they will all affect you. It is so important to pause and think before you act, because your actions create your future. Likewise, your thoughts create your environment. Especially when meeting so many new people, everyone gives off a vibe reflective of their thoughts. Be conscious of this and focus on the positive – it will radiate to the outside world and come back to you.
…But That Doesn’t Mean It Can’t Change
I never understood what it meant to try on different versions of yourself. I was me; I was the same me I had always been and always will be, and anything else would be inauthentic. I realized this year that “different versions of yourself” just means focusing on different aspects more or less. You can’t go into college knowing exactly what you want; as time goes on your priorities will shift. Let your life shift with them. There is always something new waiting around the corner, you just have to realize what new thing you want to chase.
Don’t Expect to Be Understood
The idea that everyone is different seems like common sense. We are taught even before we get to college about the diversity of Northwestern students. However, I did not truly take this to heart until I started getting to know the people around me better. I expected people to understand the world in the same way I did. They don’t. What one person finds helpful, another will find detrimental. It is so important to try to smooth out misunderstandings and really learn about the people around you. They are just as human as you are, so make the effort and give them the benefit of the doubt as much as you do for yourself.
Fairytales Exist, Just Not How You Pictured Them
I dreamt about my Northwestern experience every night from the moment I got in. I had it all planned out – it would be a year of new, magical experiences. All of my grades would be A’s and all of my endings would be happy. Spoiler alert: they weren’t. My plans had all revolved around myself; I failed to take into account that when I interact with the world, it won’t always respond how I planned. That’s okay. “Magic” isn’t getting everything you want. It’s learning to love every small, happy moment you can find, and you will find so many when you look around. The sum of these is so much more meaningful than one individual happy ending. No matter what struggles I’ve encountered this year, I am so grateful for each individual smile, laugh, and memory that my peers and teachers brought me this year.
I won’t lie, there are so many things I wish I could change about my freshman year. I wish I had acted more thoughtfully towards others and taken advantage of the full range of opportunities given to me. I wish I was truer to myself. But wishing won’t change anything. We all have another year under our belts. We can take the mistakes we made trying to adjust and use them to make the future even better than it would have been. You have experienced so much. You are capable of so much. Freshman year is just the beginning.