1. Don’t trust the frat boys
Ha. ha. had to put this first. I will say, I’ve met some really lovely frat boys this year but I’ve also met so many disrespectful ones too. They will tell you anything they can when you’re drunk to get you to go home with them. Don’t do it. Always leave with your girlfriends and never let a random guy get you a drink. ALSO, as I’m typing this with my best friends right next to me and we are reminiscing all of the frat party’s lol…. They wanted me to tell y’all not to take red shots and definitely not shots that smell like cough syrup. (yes, that happens) They say not to drink the punch either, and although I always did and was fine, definitely be cautious. (Make sure the guys are drinking it too) Honestly, my best advice is just to be aware of your surroundings and keep an eye on your girl friends and their drinks too. It’s college, we all drink, whether you’re of age or under. Just be smart!!
2. You have the option of who you want to see and keep in your life
IDK about y’all, but in high school you are forced to see everyone, everyday. In college, if someone is a toxic person in your life, you can drop them and never have to see them again. It’s so nice to have full control over who you want in your life and who you don’t. You have the total power to do what’s best for you, and there’s no better feeling than that.
3. You gain weight
Let me tell y’all….. first semester, I lost so much weight. If I’m REALLY being honest here, I drank wayyyy too much and never ate so that’s probably why. Second semester I made huge changes to my going out habits and really buckled down on school and myself. In result to that, I gained 10 pounds. (insert annoyed emoji) Like seriously, I get my life on track and am being a good girl and all I get in return is 10 pounds!? So. not. fair. But, when you have $15 in your account that has to get you from Monday to Friday, you get McDonald’s every time you and your friends eat. You eat at 1 am, and you sleep as late as you can. Gaining weight is inevitable so be prepared ladies. Luckily, dorm life is one year, so I’ve accepted the weight and know I’ll have the whole summer to work it off as well as I’ll have a kitchen in my house next year to cook healthy meals.
4. Money goes FAST
I WISH I realized this. Your parents will (most likely) send you money every month and I feel like I got a pretty decent amount from mine. I get to college, and between alcohol runs (it happens. it’s college. you did it or will do it too), food, shopping for themed parties, medicine (because you’re sick weekly), and sorority t-shirts, I was flying through my money in two weeks. I was constantly broke the last two weeks of every month. It’s a tough life. I can’t imagine life when I will have to pay for electricity and phone bills. I can barely pay for toothpaste.
5. Learn the buddy system- stick with your girls over guys
I would say my campus is pretty safe, but you can NEVER fully trust that. So many people get kidnapped across the country on campuses and you can never take it for granted. Even when you’re out on the weekends with your girls, STICK together. Nothing is scarier when you leave a house party to go to the next and your best friend isn’t there anymore and you can’t find her. That happened to us many times and it’s terrifying. Always stay together and keep an eye out for each other where ever you are.
6. Don’t take the 8am’s and DONT skip class
Last semester, the earliest I had class was 11am. It was glorious. This semester, I had a class I needed to take and it was only taught at 8am. Kill me. I was like honestly, won’t be that bad. I’ll go to bed early, I’ll wake up and start my days early, get coffee, and be happy. NO. I WAS WRONG. It was dreadful every morning. I was exhausted, and wouldn’t even listen to my professor because I was so tired. I’m such a morning person but in college, you kind of have to be nocturnal. It’s hard because when I go home I’m up at 7 am and in bed by 9pm. In college, I’m up HOPEFULLY by 11:30 am and in bed HOPEFULLY by 2 am. It’s weird. If you can, don’t take the 8 am. Even if you think you can, you can’t. trust me.
Also, DON’T skip class. My two best friends told me to put this one in here. They unfortunately skipped class daily. (still love them!!) Which led to them failing some classes. They learned that they cannot sleep until two in the afternoon anymore and miss class, and wanted to pass the advice on to y’all 🙂 You can always sleep after class so just wake up and go!
7. A lot changes and you have to adjust
So.much.changes. Your life, your body, and your fears/dreams. You go from being sheltered at home with your mom cooking for you, telling you to go to bed, saying no to you going out late, making sure you take medicine when you’re sick… all the way to her not being there. It’s scary. You’re all by yourself. You have to care for yourself, learn to budget your money, run your own errands, etc. I was already an extremely independent person before college and did a lot of things myself, but I still found myself lost without my mom being two seconds from me. Growing up is scary y’all. Some days I’m like oh yeah I got this I’m ready and others I’m like ok when can I go home and have my mom take care of me the rest of my life. I can’t adult!?
8. It’s ok to miss home
It’s ok to miss home. I did. I thought about transferring three different times this past year. But; wait it out, give it time, put yourself out there, and reach out. I ended up realizing I was being crazy and that I loved it here. Don’t jump the gun every time you miss home. If you get that feeling, call up your girlfriends and stay busy. You’ll forget about it!
9. You appreciate the little things- like your own clean shower
Yes. Dorm life is rough. At home you have your own room, big bed, clean bathroom and shower. Then comes dorm life, and it’s like you get hit by a train. Twin bed, 2 feet from your roommate, gross showers, low water pressure, dirty floors. Like honestly, you are camping for a year. Ok, maybe I’m being a little dramatic BUT it’s still not fun. As I sit here, looking at my dorm on my last night that I’ll ever have to sleep in one, I can’t help but be thankful for the year of feeling like I’m at a sleep away camp. It definitely humbled me and made me thankful for my water pressure and clean sink at home. But, can’t say I’ll miss the dorm life.
10. It’s only 4 years of your life, enjoy it.
Along with the whole transfer subject, I definitely questioned if college was for me this year. Sometimes I wondered if going to a fashion school would be better, or not even going to school at all. I’m definitely an entrepreneur and a go-getter so to me, I know I can accomplish what I want without having to sit in class for 4 hours each day. But, other than the fact my parents want me to have a degree, it’s four years of your life and of a college experience. Four years of late nights, frat parties, walking to early classes, etc. of your whole.entire.life. I realized that the big city life is waiting for me, and that I need to enjoy a college town and college experience while I can. Fortunately, I will be graduating a year early and will only be in college for 3 years. So, it’s three years of my life and that’s not bad. I don’t want to look back at these years and regret not being young. Enjoy your freshman year, it’s quite the ride. 🙂
Freshman.yr.foreva.
Just want to thank my family for supporting me, even when I had bad grades 🙂 and cried about how I wanted to come home. And for the first time in my whole life that I’ve thanked someone before my family, I want to thank my friends most of all. Y’all gave me the best year of my life, and were there for me through so many ups and downs. Y’all became my other true family and I’m so thankful for best friends like y’all. Can’t wait to be back in August!!
Thanks for reading y’all, AMS has so many things in store this summer and I can’t wait for y’all to (virtually) come along. Talk to y’all in Dallas, xoxo.
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