With my midterm exams finally over, I’m taking this opportunity to do a little midterm reviewing of my own. Now seems to be the perfect time to reflect on the first quarter of my freshman year and to start looking forward to the rest of the semester, the next semester, and, well, just the future in general. As scary as that sounds.

When I first started counting down to college, I was doing so with a level of excitement you’d expect from a kid who has just eaten four bowls of sugary cereal. I couldn’t wait to get out of high school and show my stuff at an institution of higher learning, although admittedly, the idea of college itself was fairly daunting (living among 22 year-olds/life without Mommy and Daddy/doing my own laundry/etc.). Towards the end of the summer, the dream started to become a frightening reality. Was I ready? Could I handle college life? Would I get a roommate from hell?!

Then, college. Ahh, college. Orientation was definitely awkward at first, but a few weeks into school, I was absolutely loving it (and, of course, I still am, in spite of all the reading I have to do for class tomorrow). I got extremely lucky and quickly became friends with my hallmates, and as classes started, I began developing friendships with people who share my passions, understand my sense of humor, and appreciate my personal brand of insanity. Weekend movie marathons and game nights became my weekly rituals. Read More »

Freshman year of college, from what I’ve learned so far, is a series of firsts. Some of them are great – first 11:00 a.m. class (yay sleep!), first weekend away at school – while others simply aren’t – like your first midterm exam. But regardless of whether or not these firsts are awesome in themselves, just experiencing them is exhilarating. At what other time in your life can you call Mom and prattle on excitedly about your first time studying at the library until its 2 a.m. closing time?

Oh, wait, that just might be me.

So, my college firsts? Some of them I remember vividly, and others, not so much (but not for that reason – really, Mom, I swear!). Maybe a trip down my four-week-old college memory lane will help joggle my sleep-deprived brain.

First meal

I don’t remember what or with whom I ate, but I do recall being totally daunted by the dining hall. My school’s main dining hall has fifty billion different lines criss-crossing all over the room; while I understand the system now, on the first day, I was clueless. I’m sure wasn’t the only one stricken with trepidation, but who would openly admit feeling totally lost to a bunch of unfamiliar people? Well, now I admit it. I was paralyzed with fear by a freaking dining hall. Laugh if you must.

First reading assignment

The first assignment I read was a “short story” (i.e. a rather long piece masquerading as a short story) for my English class. Heeding my professor’s advice, I annotated the sh*t out of it, but when I was through I had absolutely no idea what I had read. A second read revealed to me that it had been some bizarre satirical story, but for a good half-hour, I was reconsidering whether or not I was ready for college. Read More »

Whew! It’s been three weeks since I first set foot on campus, and what a crazy three weeks it’s been! It might still be too early to tell (psh, yeah right), but I’ve come to the conclusion that college is totally awesome, and for a number of reasons.

I can also safely say that I’ve learned quite a bit about college life from my experiences so far – or at least enough to help me survive the remainder of the semester. So take out your laptops and notebooks, because there’s going to be a quiz on this stuff next week:

1. I love freedom!
For the first time…ever, really, I have the power to make my own schedule, write my own rules, and run my life the way I want to. This new-found freedom was a little overwhelming at first, since there was so much to explore on campus and only so many hours in a day, but I’ve found a comfortable rhythm that allows for flexibility when necessary. For example, I usually hit the books after dinner, but if there’s an Apples to Apples game going on in the lounge at the same time, I’m so there.

2. College dining usually sucks, but the soft serve machines rule.
Even if the food isn’t always wonderful, you can always count on the soft serve machine (and sugar cones!) to cheer you up at the end of a disappointing meal. Seriously. I want one for my room.

3. The best discussions are to be had outside the classroom.
I’ve been involved in many deeply intellectual class discussions, but nothing beats spontaneous jam sessions with my hallmates or lounging on the lawn talking about the cultural implications of Disney movies. Staying up until 3 a.m. discussing the intricacies of the universe with my friends is far more rewarding than reading the confessions of St. Augustine. (No offense, Augustine.) Read More »

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman, so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like healthcare reform!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

There’s all kinds of advice out there about your freshman year, but more than what classes to take or how I should bring my own Solo cup to parties, the the biggest piece of advice I heard back then was “don’t get a boyfriend right away, play the field.” Of course, being the serial monogamist that I am, I didn’t listen. And got a boyf faster than most students unpacked their boxes. But now I have to wonder if I would have been better off if I had listened to those wise sages. There’s a definite up and down side to the first semester boyfriend, and I think we owe it to all the ladies getting ready to start freshman year to talk it out.

The temptation of the first semester boyfriend is almost insurmountable. You’re in a new place, surrounded by new people - new, attractive people – who don’t know about that time in high school when you slipped in chocolate pudding and had to walk around all day with a brown stain on your butt. All of a sudden you get to pick the kinds of classes you take, the activities you get involved in, the events you go to - which means your chances of meeting someone who’s really compatible with you is way higher than when you were just meeting guys who lived in the same school district as you. Read More »

I have no idea what I want to do with the rest of my life. And yes, I know there are others in the same boat. I know I don’t have to declare a major for another year, and I know there’s time. I’ve heard it all. But it doesn’t leave me any less nervous.

In some ways, I like the unclear path. I am taking classes because they sound interesting, not because they will help me complete a major. I am learning just because I want to, and my grades are just because I want to try my best, not because I know I am looking for a certain grad school or want to impress future employees. For all I know, I could be studying subjects which will be completely irrelevant to my future. So I have no pressure.

Except, I still have pressure. In some ways, it’s even more than I had in high school. Sure, it’s not like I know I have to get a certain GPA and do certain activities to get into college. But now that I’m here, I can’t believe there’s no more plan. I am the kind of person who plans out her entire future—not minute-by-minute or a 10-year-plan, more like a general idea of what’s to come– but now I have no concept of past college. All my life, I knew I was going to go to graduate high school and go to college. Now I’m here, and I can check that off the list. Read More »

So I’ve heard about college finals for years, and I expected the worst. I was ready to pull all-nighters, write twenty-page papers, and spend every waking hour of the day tucked into a library corner. But finals are next week, and here I am, writing this blog instead of hiding behind piles of books.

Maybe it’s just the classes I am taking—and of course, I know the freshman 100-level classes are the easiest—but I don’t feel too freaked out. Well, maybe I’m a little stressed, given that most of my teachers think that assigning long essays is better than assigning a final test. That leaves me with hours of work to do this weekend. But I’d rather write an essay than study for a test, so I am not too worried. I’ve found these classes pretty reasonable, which proves to me that all those AP classes actually did simulate the college experience.

What I’m feeling this week more than nerves and stress is relief. I’m relieved to have conquered the first semester of college. It’s not that I expected to have a terrible first semester, but I never assumed it would be so easy. I was terrified that I would be the girl who made lots of so-so friends, but never made a real connection. In high school I liked to stand out in class, and I thought I would hide in the corner in college classes. And I thought I’d miss my old friends and my family like crazy. I’ve seen other freshmen here go through that. But for me, everything seemed to fall into place. Read More »

I’m going to be honest: I’m not dying for Thanksgiving break like the rest of my freshman companions. Everyone around me seems to miss home, miss their parents, and miss their beds so much that they can’t wait to get on a plane.

It seems like everyone’s FB status is something about “ONE MORE WEEK!”– even people who are totally thriving and happy college freshmen.

I, however, am completely happy at school. I love my life here and my friends and I don’t really have any homesickness pangs. Don’t get me wrong; I’m excited to see my high school friends, my family, and – AHEM – Pumpkin Pie, but I just don’t feel so uber excited to go home like everyone else.

But since I am going home, I guess there are a few things I can’t wait to leave behind in the dorms for a week….

1. Shower Sandals. I seriously DESPISE wearing sandals in the shower– even though I have really cute pink Havaianas, the whole concept of needing shoes to shield yourself from germs (when you’re trying to get clean in the first place) really bugs me. Oh, and I will not miss the girl on my hall who must lose half her hair every time she showers — the showers/floors look like a salon post-haircut, pre-sweep. Nasty with a capital N. Private shower, here I come.

2. Not needing a key to get in my room. Simple. I have a ghetto key, not a sliding ID card like many of my friends. I’ll be able to walk into my room with stuff in my hands/not have to drop everything to open my door/look like a lunatic when I have to scramble through to depths of my Mary Poppins-esque Hobo bag to find my keys whenever I need to get something from my bed. Read More »

I have been in college for almost a month, and so far my biggest problem is something I’ve done quite easily — making friends.

During Orientation, people began to cling together because, in truth, all of us were friendless. So my group of friends developed depending on with whom I ate lunch one day, who also got lost trying to return to my dorm after a party, or who was sitting next to me at one of the many assemblies. I am not complaining about my friends — they are all genuinely nice people – but I wonder: if we had gone to school from pre-K to twelfth grade, would they even give me a second glace? Would I give them?

I feel like making these friends so hastily isn’t really making any true connections. Maybe this is because I’ve never moved away, and so have known all my high school friends for years. I know them inside and out, and I am really grateful for them. Now I have plenty more people programmed into my cell phone than I did in last fall. I can call over ten girls to go eat lunch, or procrastinate by watching a movie. I can say hello to at least five friends every time I walk somewhere.

But what kind of claim is that, when I don’t know anything about them other than the generic five questions I have asked and been asked for the last few weeks. 1) What’s your name? 2) What dorm do you live in? 3) What are you interested in studying? 4) Where are you from? 5) Do you want to exchange cell phone numbers?

There is no number 6: What is it about you that would make us good friends? Read More »

Launching your cute little self out of your comfort zone and into the land of college is exciting…’cause, if your ‘comfort zone’ growing up was anything like mine…just about any circumstance would be more comfortable. Or so you think.

You don’t truly realize the invisible lines that are drawn in society until college. You don’t have your own beliefs questioned so much as you do in college. You don’t have to push your own mental and physical limits so much as you do in college. And you (hopefully) never have to live in such close proximity with others your whole life, outside of college.

You will, invariably, encounter some things that are strange to you and you’re just gonna have to learn to deal…but here are some tips.

Open Sexuality

Maybe you’re not that sexual. Or maybe you’re just moderately sexual. Nonetheless, you’d better be OK with seeing naked bodies and hearing people do the humpty dance on the bunk above you, because sex is more than just a past time at college. From girls shaving their coochies in the ladies room to walking in on sex in the stairwell, my first year of college certainly reminded me that I wasn’t in Kansas anymore…and it’ll probably do the same for you. Read More »