How to Survive Your Freshman Year of College

{ Thanks to Wonderlass for the photo! }

I remember it like yesterday, hugging my parents for the last time before they left me. As they pulled out of the parking lot I was officially on my own. A sudden panic overwhelmed me. I was at college and I had no idea what I was doing. I remember feeling like I was living a dream, that any minute they would come back and get me and take me home. Part of me couldn't believe my parents were actually going to just leave me there. Just like that I became responsible for myself, my parents were no longer there to help me, I had to do everything on my own and that scared me. The first few days of college I didn't know how I was going to survive. I missed my family and friends (and my bed) and I was terrified of my first day of classes. But now that a year of college has come and gone I wish I could have gone back to that moment and tell myself, "don't worry, you'll figure it out, it's way easier than you think." Freshman year of college is a lot of figuring it out as you go. However, somethings I wish I had known from that very day of my parents dropping me off. It would have saved me a lot of time and effort. And that's what I want to do for you, save you some time and effort by giving you some helpful tips to survive your first year of college!

Make Friends

The first thing anyone wants to do when they get to college is make friends and since everyone is in the same boat it's pretty easy to do. There will be a lot of events just for Freshmen to meet people. Even though this may sound weird or intimidating, you never know who you could meet and get to know. Lucky for me, my roommate and I became really good friends very fast, so we were always together. One thing we did to meet girls in our dorm was leave our door open. This gave us the chance to talk to girls as they walked by and invite anyone in to meet us. Another opportunity that's great for meeting people is joining a club or an organization. For me, I joined the Greek Community which has given me the opportunity to make some awesome friends!

Manage Your Time

If you only take away one thing from this I hope it would be this tip. Managing your time is such a big skill that you need to learn how to do. There are so many things going on from classes to your social life to other commitments, knowing how to plan your day to fit in all the things you need to get done will make your life a lot less stressful. To do this, you need to be organized, something like a planner or agenda will help a lot with this. You can write in your homework due dates and any important events so you can plan ahead when it comes to your school work. In college, you always have something to do (or that you should be doing) so planning ahead will be very helpful.

Always Go to Class

Sometimes going to class is the last thing you want to do. But as hard as it is, fight the urge and go. Missing class in college is completely different than missing class in high school. There's no makeup work and missing a class worth of notes is a big deal. It makes a big difference when it comes to studying; it's hard to study when there's a big chunk of information missing from your notes. While we're on the topic of note taking, taking good notes is obviously pretty important. Write down everything, be present while you're in class and ask questions. When you pay attention while writing down what you hear and ask when you don't understand something, studying becomes a lot easier. Even though asking a question in a big auditorium can be intimidating, you have nothing to worry about, no one is judging you, no one cares, and half of them aren't even paying attention anyway.

Review Before and After Class

I struggled with this a lot. As much as I knew it would benefit me, I usually wanted to take the few minutes before or after class to relax before I had to do my next task of the day. But...when I read the chapter we were going to discuss in class before and reviewed over my notes after, I always felt more prepared for my tests and felt like I actually knew the information when I was studying. And when it comes to studying, don't procrastinate, it will definitely hurt you. It's not like high school where you can just study the night before and be fine.

Meet Your Professors

The first two weeks of classes make it a priority to go meet and talk with your professors. You will benefit greatly when your teacher knows your name and who you are in such a big class. Simply introduce yourself and tell them about who you are; just have a normal conversation! Your professors will give you their office hours on the first day when they give you their syllabus. Oh yeah...use your syllabus too!

Do Your Homework and Extra Credit Opportunities

Even though there isn't that much homework or extra credit in college, when there is always do it. You never know when you're going to bomb a test or miss a pop quiz. And half credit is always better than zero credit so do it even if it will be late!

Check Your Email Everyday

Every morning, when you're laying in bed or eating breakfast, scrolling through social media, make it a point to check your email too. This is how your professors communicate with you. And it's always nice to wake up to an email that says class is cancelled or your upcoming homework due date is pushed back. :)

Stay Healthy 

As busy as your life will be, it's important to take care of yourself. Eating bad is an easy habit to pick up in college so try to eat some fruits and vegetables every now and again. Be active and go to the gym or join an intramural sports team. The Freshman 15 is a real thing when you don't take care of your body like you should!

Sleep

Most people say sleep doesn't exist in college which is true, unless you make it a priority. If you manage your time right sleeping shouldn't be an issue. Not to say that some nights you might be going to bed when the sun is coming up, but everyone has a few of those!

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