“It’s your freshman year and you’re gonna be here for the next four years in this town.” - Taylor Swift.
Champaign, Ill. — Green grass is covered with students that couldn’t wait to get back to get back to campus, already huddled with their friends from the Squirrel Watching Club or their sports teams. Hammocks polka dot the trees that line the perimeter. Excited energy and Illini pride fill the air and you can’t wait to join the action… but you’re a little nervous.
That’s okay! Attending university is a big change from high school, especially if you’re coming from another country, a really small town, or another state. Several questions might be running through your mind:
- How long will it take me to make good friends?
- How will I navigate this campus?
- When do I need to leave to get to class on time?
- Is there a “dress code”? Should I wear a sundress or sweats to class?
- How many clubs can I realistically join?
- What if my roommate and I don’t get along?
I asked myself these same questions, and I can still remember my nervous excitement on my first day. One thing that I wish I knew as a freshman is that you have so much time. There are many things that you want to accomplish. During that first week, there can seem to be some unnecessary pressure to figure everything out.
Maybe you want to reassure your parents that you’re crushing college and it’s totally worth them paying tens of thousands of dollars for your tuition, housing, meals, etc. Maybe you want to make a high school teacher proud, or maybe you just want to prove to yourself that you can do this. The good news is that you can.
They say college is supposed to be “the best four years,” but people rarely talk about (or even remember) how hard of an adjustment it can be. The best thing you can do is give yourself grace. It takes time and that’s okay.