A Letter to Incoming College Freshman
This year is my first year of college and it has been so educational. Not just in the sense of learning the things that I paid for, but learning things about myself. I go to a community college so the experience is not the same as a university, but it is just as important.
Nobody is judging you(and if they are, screw em). In my high school years, I was very introverted, self conscious, and afraid of what everyone else thought of me. I figured out in college that it doesn’t matter at all what anyone else thinks of you. Everyone is there for the same thing and it’s not to profile or judge. Yes, it matters what kind of attitude you have, but no one cares if you come to class in sweats.
Open up. I’ve started putting myself out there and meeting new people without waiting for them to approach me first. My second day of my first semester I overheard a girl talking about the syllabus for a class I had as well and I didn’t say anything then because I thought it’d be weird, but then she ended up being in my class and I approached her and now we are really good friends. You’d be surprised how much easier it is to make a friend in college.
Professors are nothing like high school teachers. Let’s get one thing straight, not every professor is the same. I’ve had professors that know everyone in the class by name and professors that number their students because they don’t care to learn names. I’ve had professors that grade based on attendance and professors that don’t give a shit if you show up or not. I recommend looking the professor up online before signing up for a class with them. The professors teaching style really determines how you’ll do in the class. Take my word on this one.
You have ultimate freedom, but use it wisely. In college, you decide your schedule and it’s pretty nice. You no longer have mom and dad to make sure you go to school or get your work done, it’s all on you now. Use your time wisely. If you have time between classes, study. Even if you’ve studied already, there is no harm in over preparing. You never know what is going to be on that piece of paper your professor hands you(sometimes they get tricky).
Last, but not least, weird things happen a lot. Not a bad weird per say, but just things that wouldn’t really happen in high school. For example, I was walking to my class last semester and there was a guy handing out free Jimmy Johns. Another example, one of the bathrooms in one of the buildings on campus has a table and chairs in it…I don’t know why, but it does. You never know what you’re going to see or hear when you walk onto campus, but that’s the joy.
Enjoy your time in college, it’ll be some of the best years of your life.
