Freshman Year of College

Last post, I touched on the essential not-so-serious things that every incoming college freshman should learn. Once you’ve got those down, you’re ready for the real preparation to begin!

Getting ready for freshman year can seem a little daunting at times. Living away from home, adjusting to a new city, building new friendships, challenging schoolwork, the list goes on. College ushers in an enormous amount of life changes. Sometimes, it can be tough to process it all.

So where do you start? Aside from filling out tons of paperwork about your citizenship and vaccination shots, how do you even begin to prepare for such a big transition?

I’ve put together my thoughts on a few things that helped me kick off my freshman year on a good note.

1) Start by asking questions.

I’ve found that one of the best ways to prepare for anything worthwhile is to ask myself basic questions about it. If we can first establish a foundational perspective on college and why it matters, we’ll have cast a vision that will help clarify and direct our steps once we arrive on campus. Questions like “Why am I really going to college?”, “Who do I want to surround myself with?”, and “What do I value?” help create clarity around the places we’ll go, choices we’ll make, and ways we’ll invest our time. The why behind college (and life) matters a whole lot more than the what or the how.

2) Let go of high school.

Although I was born and raised one of the biggest UGA fans you’ve ever met, it was hard at first to jump straight into college without thinking back on all my experiences from high school. I was no longer a senior on top of the world. I was starting all over from the ground up. Funny enough, many freshmen easily embrace this change because they simply disliked high school.  But for me it was a challenge because I loved my high school experience. Regardless, I’ve found that past experiences, when dwelled upon, can become a distraction from building up a foundation in our new chapter of life. Don’t lose touch with old friends or forget about all the memories made in high school, but place a greater emphasis on forging new relationships and investing in your new home.

3) Look for ways to add value.

One of the best ways to get plugged into college is to find ways to utilize your strengths and passions on campus. Other than working hard in school, this is, in my opinion, the single most practical thing you can do freshman year. Go explore. Clubs, philanthropy organizations, fraternities/sororities, ministries, school projects- where can you add meaningful value? It may take a little self-reflection, but I’m convinced that when students use their strengths and passions to add value to causes bigger than themselves, dynamic impact can be created on campus. Not to mention the lifelong relationships you’ll build in the process.

4) Be awkward.

For some reason, we have this fear of “looking like a freshman” on campus. We want to fit in and appear as if we know exactly what we’re doing. But we don’t. We’ve never been here before. The whole college thing is brand knew. We don’t know any of the bus routes, or which building is which, or what we want to get involved in. We’re a freshman. And that’s ok. On the first day of classes my freshman year, I accidentally bumped into a guy (who looked much older than me) at lunch and knocked his soda over on his tray. Ooops…welcome to college. My point is, don’t be afraid to look silly. It’s freshman year. Everyone feels a little uncomfortable. Don’t let the fear of feeling awkward or being “that guy” stop you from getting out of your comfort zone and exploring new things and meeting new people. Get out there and explore. Embrace it. Have fun. Be awkward.

There’s an enormous amount of material already out there on making the jump from high school to college. From tips on developing solid study habits, to simple advice on doing laundry (which I greatly benefitted from), books like How to Win at College address all of the various aspects of the transition- from the big picture ideas to the smallest details.  Check out a few this summer and get fired up!