As freshman year comes to a close in as little as 1.5 months, I thought I would take the time to look back. My time as a freshman in college was a bit unconventional, but I have learned more than I ever thought I would about life and about myself. I hope this helps those still in high school who are about to embark on their next adventure, and I also hope this helps those finishing up their first year to look back and realize how much freshman year matters.
1.) Your dorm room will be both your sanctuary and your least favorite place.
This could not be more accurate. There are many nights when you will be so overwhelmed, you may just want to curl up in bed and cry. There will be many days when this all just seems like too much to handle and you just want to sleep. That is what makes dorms such a calming place to be. A place where you, 2, or 3 other people live and experience this crazy adventure together. It is such a source of laughter, smiles, tears, and pure memories. However, it may also be your least favorite place. Homesickness is a real thing. As much as some of us want to be independent and on our own, we will all feel it when our parents leave and it is 3 in the morning working on an essay due the very next day (procrastination is a real thing as well). You will just want to sleep in your own bed, get a hug from mom or dad, and feel the comfort of home and the pets that come along with it. Being confined to a single room can be very tough, especially when going through such a transition. But it is all about community. Everyone else feels the same exact way. You will not be alone in this.
2.) You will long for home-cooked meals after weeks of dining halls and Easy-Mac.
Ahhh yes. The beautiful home-cooked meal. Easy-mac is a wonderful thing. However, after eating it for every meal at least once a month, you learn that diminishing marginal utility is actually something you can apply to your life (shoutout to all of my Business/Econ majors!). When you can’t stand mac and cheese and ramen, you could totally head over to the dining hall. You quickly learn that nothing compares to a home-cooked meal and even the best dining hall food gets old quickly. Be thankful for the food you do get the opportunity to eat daily, but never forget that mom/dad or grandma/grandpa makes it best.
3.) It is okay to not be okay.
When everyone moves in the first day of college, everything is exciting and brand new. New friends. New home. New schedule. Once classes begin, even that can be exciting because you are finally embarking on this grand new adventure. As time goes by, you slowly begin to realize that college isn’t all daisies and roses. Between the countless hours studying, the failed exams even after studying, the homesickness, the stress of being on your own, the struggles of making the right decisions, basically everything that comes with becoming an independent adult, this time period can be very difficult for many, if not all of us. I personally struggled with anxiety. I went through a season in my life that I thought I would never get through. I honestly did not think anyone else was struggling. I believed that everyone else was having such an easy time with college and that I was the only one struggling. Little did I know that there were so many people who felt the same exact way. Building that community of people and building each other up together is something that is crucial in this time of transition. College is HARD. And it is absolutely okay to not be okay. Cry as much as you need to. If you look past the surface, there will always be someone with a shoulder to cry on.
4.) Baths. You will miss them. Make the most of them when you get the chance.
This is for all of my fellow people who absolutely find baths essential. This one is pretty straight forward. You may have a bath tub at home to relax in while reading a good book. But don’t get too comfortable. Enjoy it while you can, because for the next 4-8 years (depending on your major), you will have very limited access to your bathtub you hold so dear to your heart. Enjoy it during those breaks, summers, and long weekends and never ever EVER take it for granted.
5.) Figure out what you truly love, and follow that.
I am terrible at making decisions. Always have been. Most likely always will be. However, I have learned how to improve in one area of my decision-making that has impacted my whole life. I love to make other people happy. I love doing things for other people and being with people and just overall seeing people full of smiles, laughter, and joy. Who doesn’t love that? But it gets to the point sometimes of basing all of the decisions I make on what will make other people happy. Before my freshmen year of college, I made a lot of decisions this way. Of course it brought me joy knowing someone was proud of me or that I was making someone happy, but truly I was not focused on my own well-being and the loves the Lord has placed inside my heart. When I finally starting tapping into what God has blessed me with in terms of passions, I slowly learned that life is about helping others and making other people feel joy and love. Also, God created each of us with a plan already laid out. He made each of us unique and with specific loves and passions rooted into the depth of our being (p.s. don’t we have such an INCREDIBLE god???). If we are so focused on making other people happy, we will never truly be happy. We can’t live every moment of every day satisfying the wants of others when God is the one in charge of our lives. Find the things you love to do. Don’t give up on those things for any one or anything. Because you have such a bigger part in Gods incredible design than you think you do. One day, you will look back at the master piece God created through your life and you will finally realize that the person you never thought you could be, who you wanted and longed to be, is exactly what God had planned all along.
6.) Some friends will come and some friends will go, but the ones that stay through it all are the ones to never let go of.
College is a HUGE transition. It is a time and season of making new friends, while staying connected to old friends. However, college does change many people and with that change comes the loss of some friendships you thought would last a lifetime. It is a very painful thing to come to terms with, but it helps you realize who your forever friends are. Being thankful for the friendships you are developing as well as the old friends who have stuck around is vital to a joyful attitude in this season. I believe that God brings people into our lives for a reason and no relationship is in vain. Friendships fade sometimes and this helps us to understand that life is messy and some relationships are worth fighting for more than others. Allow God to really soften your heart and open doors. You will be amazed at what’s on the other side.
7.) Change is hard, but it is necessary.
Getting through your freshman year of anything is a huge milestone, but especially college. Every single one of us who goes down the college path must endure their first year. I am not a fan of change. I am not a fan of the unknown. I love plans and I love to stick to them. The people who know me probably know this very well by now. However, I now view change in a very different light than I used to. See, before college I was coasting. I coasted through high school with the same routine. Wake up. Go to class. Go to practice. Go home. That was my routine, with maybe a little hiccup here or there along the way. When I got to college, I do not think I was prepared well enough for what I was going to experience. Change got the best of me and knocked me down. But it is when we get back up and push through that changes our hearts the most. Change is a beautiful thing. I never thought I was going to say that 4 months ago. But I have seen how God works through the change to bring opportunities, to open doors, and to open our eyes to a whole new perspective. Change can be uncomfortable, believe me I know that full well. But luckily, sweet beautiful souls, we have a God who already knows what’s up ahead. We don’t need to worry about plans getting screwed up, because Gods plans can never be screwed up. God can never be surprised. He sees things coming before they even enter our thoughts. I think it all boils down to this. If you go into college thinking you will breeze right through, prepare yourself because everything is about to change. But don’t be scared of the change. Be grateful for the change, embrace the change, trust God, and watch Gods hand in every little detail of your beautiful story.
8.) Your strength is limitless.
I want you to stop what you are doing right now. Take a deep breath. And say, ” I am powerful. I am capable. I have the strength of the most-high King with me forever”. Now how do you feel? Pretty fantastic, am I right? There is something so incredible that accompanies a feeling of such power and strength. All of us want to be considered strong and capable people. College has a way of making those of us who struggle with inner strength feel very weak and defeated. I remember last semester struggling majorly with anxiety, as I have mentioned before. It was a very dark season in my life, but also was one of the most eye-opening. I grew stronger in my faith than I ever have before through that. I have had countless opportunities to share my testimony to people and to help people through tough situations. This is what I can only explain as divine intervention. God’s holy hand on his beloved people. But I also discovered something so beautiful, so refreshing, so precious that nothing on this earth can ever take away. Not only did Jesus wipe our sins away on that cross, but He also gave us the strength to withstand anything that comes our way through His name and through His almighty power. Before this past year, I never understood the saying, “You are so much stronger than you know”. But now I understand exactly what that means. When we are living a life of comfort and ease, we are never challenged to a point where true strength is really necessary. It is through the change, through the trials, through the obstacles and disappointments of life that we see the strength we never knew we had. The strength that comes not from our own power, but through Jesus and his power. Wow. When you each come to realize how strong each one of you are, you will have such confidence and such a new appreciation for who Jesus is and who He will always be. College is tough. It is change. It is challenging. And you will struggle. But it is thought the struggle that you will discover who you truly are. A strong, capable, earth-shaking, ground-breaking, god honoring, god fearing, kingdom-warrior of a women or man. That is where true strength lies. At the foot of the cross.
9.) You have the world at your finger tips and Jesus right beside you, nothing is impossible.
Jesus did not die on that cross for nothing. He died for you. He died for me. Despite anything we would ever do or say. He loves us exactly where we are. So when everything around you seems unsure. When everything around you seems like it is unfair. When college seems like too much to handle. Remember this. Jesus and His promises are constant and never change. Jesus is for you and He is fighting for you. There is a plan, and oh goodness I could not be more excited to see the rest of the story.
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