Advice to my freshman self

182349_642577895761197_2122475739_nFour years of college has almost flown by.. I’ve learned a lot about a variety of subjects, but also bout life and most importantly myself. These are some things I wish I knew then, that I know now…

You don’t have to buy (every) textbook.. I could have saved a lot of money if I realized this one a little earlier on..

Calm down a bit.. you can relax a little and watch that movie on a Tuesday night.

You’ll change your major. Twice. And it will all work out okay.

Professors are cool people. Get to know them. They’ll be a great resource.

Assigned readings are often just a suggestion.. you’ll never be able to stay completely caught up in every class.

Some friends will come and go, but you can pick out the true ones by those that keep in contact even when you forget to reply for weeks.

Sleep is overrated. Not entirely, but getting eight hours every night like you planned is unrealistic and not worth the effort.

Don’t worry about losing contact with your best friend, if you haven’t lost touch in 12 years, college isn’t going to change that.

Be open to trying new things, you’ll find that you enjoy things you never expected to.

Don’t write off activities that you haven’t done in a while, you never know when you’ll get a chance to do them again.

Read your syllabi. Know your syllabi. Follow your syllabi.

Enjoy the little moments. Try not to worry constantly about the future, there will be plenty of that later.

Take French again. And German. Spanish was good, but you could have improved two languages instead of adding a third one that you’ve already forgotten.

Call your family more often. Especially Grandma, it’ll keep mom more sane.

Be thankful.

Don’t live with regrets. Things happen for a reason.

Trust your instinct, you’ve got a good sense when about what’s right.

Try new things, you never did take that dance class like you always said you would and you’ll never know that you love distance swimming until you try it.

Netflix is dangerous. Check yourself.

Ask more questions. Be inquisitive. Be challenged. Learn to argue and state your opinions.

Rules are meant to be broken. But maybe not the important ones.

Don’t forget that college is about more than studying and having good grades.

You have to let loose every so often and have a little (or a lot of) fun.

By: Kelsey McCauley