Amy Lauver, Layout Editor
Now that the parents have left, you have started to settle in and classes have begun, you have a newfound freedom (within SNU limits of course). Freshman year can be a lot of fun, but it can also be very challenging. This year is the start of your college career and can define how the rest of your time here will go. Here are some Dos and Don’ts that could help you survive freshman year and make it the best it can be:
Do: look out for the sprinklers when crossing campus. They will attack!
Don’t: test your ability to run on little sleep the first few weeks of school. You will need to save that skill for when midterms and finals come around.
Do: make an effort to talk to the people on your floor. Dorm life is so much more fun when you make the most of it.
Don’t: procrastinate too much. If you know of big papers and projects months before they are due, don’t wait until the last couple days to do them. It will save you a lot of stress and sleepless nights.
Do: keep stuff to make peanut butter and jellies in your dorm room. There will be days where nothing in Sodexo looks worth eating.
Don’t: skip too many chapels in the beginning. You will want those extra skips come finals time.
Do: give your roommate a chance. They are just as nervous, anxious and excited about college as you are.
Don’t: forget to go to class. Even though college can be a blast, remember what you are actually here for.
Do: get to know your professors. They do really care about you and want to build relationships with you.
Don’t: let your room get too messy. Remember that your mom is not here to clean it, so don’t let it get to the point where there is no hope for it.
Do: Say yes more than you say no. Go to SGA events, join a club, do something you wouldn’t normally do. If you don’t like it, at least you can say you tried it.
When asked what she would tell her freshman self, Senior Amy Snyder said, “Going to college isn’t about redefining yourself but rather about taking who you are as an individual and discovering your new found freedom, passions and friends. Don’t change who you are to make friends, the right ones will find you in time. Why? One, as a freshman I was very afraid that people wouldn’t take me as I am, so often times my defenses reflected as rude and not a good illustration of who I am. Two, I noticed that I tried to change who I was with my new start, only to realize that wasn’t necessary. People love me for me, and if they can’t do that, it isn’t my job to change for them, as long as I continue loving them.”
Senior Caleb Swanigan says he would tell his freshman self, “’Get out and do stuff with people!’ I pretty much locked myself in my room freshman year because I didn’t realize how nice people were going to be, and I really missed out on a lot because of it.”
This year will be the best year of your life so far, but it is just the beginning of your time here. It is only a part of your entire college experience, so make it the best it could possibly be!