Everything You Want To Say To Your Freshman Year Self, As Told By A Graduate
Dear 18-year-old me,
Starting college and being a freshman is exciting. Moving into a dorm room with a stranger might sound terrifying, but who knows, she could end up being your best friend (she does by the way)?
Dining halls might sound sketchy as a vegetarian in freshman year, but mid-sophomore year you might decide to study abroad in a country that only serves meat so you'll give up that vegetarianism anyways -- eat that unidentifiable on-campus meat.
Talk to strangers (you know what I mean), hang out on the quad, join a club, get a fake ID immediately (do that earlier rather than later), wander around town where there might be a gas station that sells five beers for $5 (definitely find that earlier rather than later).
Stop worrying about your friends at home moving on without you. Yes, they are your closest friends and you don't want anything to change. But if you take a step back, you might realize that it really won't change and they will probably still be your friends after college (they are).
Yes, it's devastating you and your first love had to break up because of the fact that he is going to school in Nebraska and you're staying in New York, but don't let that hold you back. Don't let that be the reason you sit in your room crying, leading you to missing your first few nights out in college. Him holding you back might hold you back from the opportunity to meet people, including new boys who might be great (a handful definitely aren't great).
Be open to that sorority that constantly ambushes you with flyers on campus -- they could end up being your sisters, your housemates, the girls you'll be friends with forever. Dress up for those parties you think you're "too cool for" because lets be honest, when you don't dress up, you're definitely not cool.
College will be fun AF, but you're also paying to get an education -- make your parents proud.
Talk to the frat boys. Yeah, you might be nervous about drinking from the 20-foot funnel they're holding (that they've probably never washed), you might be nervous that they're using weird pick-up lines (which could end up being a funny story), you might be nervous they'll end up hurting you (there might be one who tries to date your best friend and you at the same time), but you might also end up bringing one of them to your formal someday or you might even get so close to them you'll end up calling yourself a member of their frat.
When it comes to your school work, do it. Yes, college will be fun AF, but you're also paying bank to get an education, so make your parents proud. With that being said, listen to the girl who tells you at the end of the day your GPA won't be the most important thing on your resume, but instead, what you did with your talents and skills.
Don't be miserable your first year, because most likely when you're sitting at graduation wildly hungover, you'll wish that you could go back and make the most of the time you wasted wanting to be home. You'll wish that you got really drunk that one Tuesday. You'll wish you talked to that boy you thought was cute your first month in college but never really got to know.
Freshmen year might seem scary but think about how you're only 18 and how this is the time to live it up and have fun. Nothing is that awful right now, so don't make it seem like it is.
Except for taking that intro to studio art class on Mondays at 8 am. My bad.
Love, Your Post-Grad Future Self
