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Last Tuesday, at the conclusion of my last final exam, my freshman year in college ended¹. Overall, my freshman year was a great year, with highs and lows, many successes and little failures. I’ll never have another year like it again, that much I know for sure, and I’m grateful for all the things I learned during it!

• Do not expect your roommate to be your best friend
  I am extremely, extremely lucky that my roommate and I have not only gotten along so well that we are rooming together again next year, but that she is one of my best friends in my life – not just at school, but one of my best friends ever. However, that is so not always the case. The most important part of a roommate situation is getting along. It is not crucial that you become best friends, nor is it even necessary to be super close in order to have a good rooming situation. The key is to be open to compromise and the voicing of different opinions, and establishing middle ground so you can get along well. If not, it might just turn out to be like a situation one of my friends experienced where he and his roommate hated each other so much he moved all the way across campus halfway throughout the year to get away from his roommate!
• Be open to taking classes you wouldn’t ordinarily take
  As a freshman, you get last pick in classes when it comes to registering, so automatically you’re in a position where your first choice is not always a likely option. Additionally, if you have to fulfill General Education requirements, then you definitely will have to take classes you might never, ever want to take. It’s not all bad, though, because fulfilling your requirements help you figure out what you definitely do/do not want to take for your major. My World Politics class last fall taught me that I definitely do not want to do anything in the world of international politics for my career, and I ended up changing my major to a field I really love.
• Cafeteria food tastes awful, but it’s all you’ve got
  Dining hall/cafeteria food is never fantastic, and that’s a lesson quickly learned. Still, it’s pretty much all you got, unless you are up for making your own meals or venturing to an off-campus eatery for a meal. Whenever you just can’t face university food, remember there is always the option of take-out!
• Pulling an all-nighter really sucks
  I’ve managed to complete a year in college without pulling a single all-nighter for schoolwork, which I think is mostly due to the fact that even though I am not a huge fan of schoolwork, I hate being sleep-deprived even more, so I always try and at least start assignments ahead of time so I can finish them on time. All-nighters, they really suck – you’re running on nothing but countless energy drinks and the determination that you will finish the assignment it’s due in class that day, and then you’re a wreck for the next several days as your body recovers from the lack of sleep and the high sugar and caffeine content of the energy drink.
• Explore the neighboring city/town
  I attend school in Washington, DC, and if I hadn’t gone out and explored the city and all it has to offer, then I definitely would have had a different experience this past year. DC has so much to choose from, whether it be sightseeing and shopping, or learning about the history and politics of the city. Just a few of the things that I experienced in DC was President Obama’s Inauguration, the National Cherry Blossom Festival, and the DC Ghost Tour. Every city has something to offer, so go and see what’s there for you to experience!

1. Technically I am somewhere in between a college sophomore/junior now because of where I stand credit-wise, but I’m not still totally sure how that all works out so I’ll just stick to calling myself a college sophomore until that all gets figured out! [↩]