It’s okay to cry a lot. I just want you to know that you don’t have to.

As we reach the end of shopping week, tensions are increasing and the semester is starting to gear up. If you’re a freshman, this is probably a scary time! It’s time to dive into your classes and start doing the college thing (which no one has ever actually told you how to do, probably).

I think many of my upperclassmen peers will vouch for me when I say that as a freshman, it is really easy to think that coming to college means that everything is the end of the world. Don’t get into a class you need to take for your major? End of the world. Late to class? End of the world. Get a 50 on an exam? End of the world. Don’t really know what you want to do with your life at the ripe age of 18? You guessed it, end of the world.

I thought this way for most of my first two years at Barnumbia. I mean, sometimes I even still think this way. But I have found that, with age and experience, it is much easier to recognize that this train of thought is 1) inaccurate, 2) unhelpful, and 3) soul crushing. 

Think about it as an experiment or data collection exercise—chances are, if you’re here, you really thought everything was the end of the world in high school. You probably got, like, an 87% on a test in your junior year calculus class that you thought would end your academic career forever. But you still ended up here, no? I often try to apply that school of thought to my inevitable academic spiraling. Much easier said than done, of course, but worthwhile to think about. 

So, I’m going to tell you the things I needed to hear as a freshie:

  1. College is a perfect time to be really confused, change your mind and do a 180, make new friends, try new hobbies, and be really bad at everything. Especially the first few years.
  2. Go to office hours. Please.
  3. If it’s a Saturday at 7 pm and you’ve been in the library all day, go do something stupid.
  1. Literally no one expects you to know what you want. It’s fine—you’re a baby and you don’t need to know. You should be curious, though.
  1. If you’re not trying new things and failing at them, you’re not trying enough new things.

At the end of the day, we’re here to learn, and not just academically. Learn about yourself! Learn about life! Learn about the people around you! You’ll be hard pressed to find someone here who isn’t at least a little interesting. We’re all in the same boat, to an extent. Do your best to take some deep breaths, enjoy your time here, and relish in your indecision!

Header via Bwog Archives