Starting college can be hard. The Echo is here to help with our editorial staff’s tried and true wisdom:
1. Don’t be afraid to participate. It’s not like in high school when that was “uncool”. So, go to all the events and meet everyone. Even if you forget or you don’t become everyone’s BFF, the experience alone will change you. Everyone is trying to make friends as a freshman. Try to meet as many people as you can this year, as it will be more difficult in the future. Don’t be afraid to go to SNU dining alone and just join someone’s table. 
2. You can cook grilled cheese with an iron. Think about it.
3. College is not going to be perfect. Things will, at some point and in some way, go wrong. When that happens, just remember, it’s not the end of the world.
4. Step out of your comfort zone once in a while (or frequently, depending on how adventurous you are). Perhaps that means meeting new people or participating in a new activity or event, whatever the case, now is the perfect time to try new things. 
5. Don’t worry too much about the future. You’ve got several years before you in which you’ll probably spend too much time doing just that. Take it a step at a time and remember to enjoy the present.
6. Resist the urge to jump in the fountain – even when it’s 100 degrees outside. You don’t want the fine.
7. Keep up with the news. Many times professors will bring up current events in class and you need to be able to contribute. Reading the daily Skimm email is a funny, quick, and easy to keep up with news. Check it out here. 8. Don’t buy SNU gear. Many events and clubs give away so many t-shirts that you will have an entire drawer full of free shirts by the end of your freshman year. 
9. Learn how to use Google Drive. It has amazing tools to help you, many professors will expect you to use it, and SNU email is integrated with it.
10. Do the tasks/assignments that you least want to do first and as early as you can. This will help you avoid burnout and the procrastination trap.
11. Make time for a hobby like reading for fun, yoga, cooking etc. that way you can blow off steam.
12. Go to Renew Counseling Center. It doesn’t matter if you’ve experienced trauma or not, college is a time of intense changes, transitions, and personal growth. Everyone needs an objective counselor that can give you unconditional positive regard and challenge you to be the best you can be. 
14. Make sure you’re always getting enough rest. Staying up all night with friends can be fun, but poor sleep habits will hurt you.
15. Establish routines that create natural transitions between activities. For example, don’t do homework in your bed; it will make falling asleep harder. Take a walk between hanging out with friends and class to help yourself leave the stress of your work behind.
16. Study with good posture or you will end up with back pain and chiropractic bills at the end of each semester.
17. Make a plan for exercising or log all your meals into the my fitness pal app. The freshman 15 is real and you’ve got to make a plan to avoid it.
18. Write for the Echo. You will meet new friends, share your perspective, become a better writer, photographer and/or video producer, and build a great portfolio.