hi! recently i did a blog post on my first year of college. i talked about the things that i personally struggled with and my advice on how to deal with them if they come up for you. in this post i want to give some random pieces of advice and tips for those of you going into your first year of college. this post will be a lot less personal than the other and will not really deal as much with internal problems you may face. i know a lot of colleges start again in august, so i hope this helps some of you out!
1. don't worry about feeling overwhelmed your first week.
during my first week of college i was probably give about a million fliers for internships, student orgs, sororities, campus services, recreation classes, welcome week activities, and about anything you can think of in between. it was overwhelming to say the least. on top of that, classes started and i was super confused on what was due when and how to find what my homework was and it was just terrible. nevertheless, i powered through it and it soon was all better. my advice to you is to not freak out. accept the fliers, take it all in, but don't try to figure it all out. take time to make friends and hang out with people. you'll have plenty of time to get a feel for where you fit in campus and what you want to get involved in, and thats when you whip out those fliers and get involved.
2. don't bring every article of clothing you could need for the entire year.
if you live somewhat near your college, or if you know that you will be home before summer turns into fall, don't bring everything you have in your closet at once. at the beginning of the year just bring your summer clothes, then switch them out with colder weather appropriate clothes when the seasons start to change. chances are you won't have a huge amount of closet space so this will save a lot of cramming that you would otherwise try to do to make everything fit.
3. don't buy things at home you can easily buy in your college town.
this is especially important if you're going far away for college, and it's even helpful if you aren't going too far away. if you need things like hangers or shampoo, there's no reason to pack those things when you can just as easily buy them in your college town. it saves space when transporting your things and chances are you'll need to make a few stops to the store when you're moving in to pick up things you hadn't thought of needing until you unpacked.
4. use suitcases to transport your stuff.
why haul around big, heavy boxes when you can put all your things in easy to move suitcases. it's so much easier, and when you're unpacked you can keep one with you for when you visit home and give the others to your parents to take back. you'll be happy when you've moved all your stuff in without even breaking a sweat.
5. get out and get to know your college city.
once you've gotten a hang of how college works, get out of your university and see what the surrounding city has to offer. location was probably somewhat of a factor when your were making your college decision, so it wouldn't make any sense if you spent the whole year not getting to know the place you'll be living for the next four years. maybe grab some new friends and make a day out of it. you'll make some great memories.
6. don't be afraid to try new things.
college is a time where you get to try things and do things you would otherwise never have had the opportunity to do. don't be afraid to try things out just because it's something you've never don't before or it's something that you would never usually do.
7. eat healthy and exercise.
this sounds a lot easier than it is. you most likely will be eating at a cafeteria everyday, and it will be hard sometimes to choose salad over pizza, but it's super important to try your best to eat healthy and at least do some form of exercise regularly. if you're body isn't functioning at its best, you can't expect your mind to.
8. maintain your own schedule.
you most likely will be living in very close conditions with a multitude of other girls. living together means that a lot of things that each of you do will most likely overlap, from when you eat to when you got out and more. but it's super important to not let other people's schedules run your life. you'll find it hard to get your own things done and do the things you want to do if you're constantly pulled into someone else's plans all the time.
9. keep in contact with high school friends.
for many of us our high school friends were also our junior high friends, and our elementary school friends, and our preschool friends before that. to say the least, they've been there with us through it all. a friendship that has been built on for years is a good one to keep, and you're going to have to put in the effort to maintain them. you can do something as simple as creating a group chat so you guys can always keep each other posted on what's going on in your lives, and then meet up over school breaks. it's not super time consuming and it's definitely worth the effort.
10. coordinate with your roommate/roommates/suit mates who is bringing what.
finally, when you're moving in be sure to contact the people you'll be living with before hand to plan who is bringing what. you don't want both you and your roommate to bring a mini fridge or doubles of anything like that for that matter. start a simple group chat, coordinate who's bringing what, and maybe you'll even start to get to know each other before the year even starts.
i hope this was helpful to any new collegiate! don't worry and have fun with your first year! xo shawndiz
during my first week of college i was probably give about a million fliers for internships, student orgs, sororities, campus services, recreation classes, welcome week activities, and about anything you can think of in between. it was overwhelming to say the least. on top of that, classes started and i was super confused on what was due when and how to find what my homework was and it was just terrible. nevertheless, i powered through it and it soon was all better. my advice to you is to not freak out. accept the fliers, take it all in, but don't try to figure it all out. take time to make friends and hang out with people. you'll have plenty of time to get a feel for where you fit in campus and what you want to get involved in, and thats when you whip out those fliers and get involved.
2. don't bring every article of clothing you could need for the entire year.
if you live somewhat near your college, or if you know that you will be home before summer turns into fall, don't bring everything you have in your closet at once. at the beginning of the year just bring your summer clothes, then switch them out with colder weather appropriate clothes when the seasons start to change. chances are you won't have a huge amount of closet space so this will save a lot of cramming that you would otherwise try to do to make everything fit.
3. don't buy things at home you can easily buy in your college town.
this is especially important if you're going far away for college, and it's even helpful if you aren't going too far away. if you need things like hangers or shampoo, there's no reason to pack those things when you can just as easily buy them in your college town. it saves space when transporting your things and chances are you'll need to make a few stops to the store when you're moving in to pick up things you hadn't thought of needing until you unpacked.
4. use suitcases to transport your stuff.
why haul around big, heavy boxes when you can put all your things in easy to move suitcases. it's so much easier, and when you're unpacked you can keep one with you for when you visit home and give the others to your parents to take back. you'll be happy when you've moved all your stuff in without even breaking a sweat.
5. get out and get to know your college city.
once you've gotten a hang of how college works, get out of your university and see what the surrounding city has to offer. location was probably somewhat of a factor when your were making your college decision, so it wouldn't make any sense if you spent the whole year not getting to know the place you'll be living for the next four years. maybe grab some new friends and make a day out of it. you'll make some great memories.
6. don't be afraid to try new things.
college is a time where you get to try things and do things you would otherwise never have had the opportunity to do. don't be afraid to try things out just because it's something you've never don't before or it's something that you would never usually do.
7. eat healthy and exercise.
this sounds a lot easier than it is. you most likely will be eating at a cafeteria everyday, and it will be hard sometimes to choose salad over pizza, but it's super important to try your best to eat healthy and at least do some form of exercise regularly. if you're body isn't functioning at its best, you can't expect your mind to.
8. maintain your own schedule.
you most likely will be living in very close conditions with a multitude of other girls. living together means that a lot of things that each of you do will most likely overlap, from when you eat to when you got out and more. but it's super important to not let other people's schedules run your life. you'll find it hard to get your own things done and do the things you want to do if you're constantly pulled into someone else's plans all the time.
9. keep in contact with high school friends.
for many of us our high school friends were also our junior high friends, and our elementary school friends, and our preschool friends before that. to say the least, they've been there with us through it all. a friendship that has been built on for years is a good one to keep, and you're going to have to put in the effort to maintain them. you can do something as simple as creating a group chat so you guys can always keep each other posted on what's going on in your lives, and then meet up over school breaks. it's not super time consuming and it's definitely worth the effort.
10. coordinate with your roommate/roommates/suit mates who is bringing what.
finally, when you're moving in be sure to contact the people you'll be living with before hand to plan who is bringing what. you don't want both you and your roommate to bring a mini fridge or doubles of anything like that for that matter. start a simple group chat, coordinate who's bringing what, and maybe you'll even start to get to know each other before the year even starts.
i hope this was helpful to any new collegiate! don't worry and have fun with your first year! xo shawndiz