The Freshman Fifteen

I bet you thought this was going to be an article about eating healthy in college, well surprise! This freshman fifteen is the fifteen most important lessons I learned during my freshman year in college.

1. Mom and Dad are always right. Period. Never doubt your parents, they know what they are talking about. And it is totally acceptable to call them and ask for help when you get stuck. That’s what parents are there for. That and cover money.
2. Procrastination is a death sentence. 10 page papers do not write themselves over night, neither do 5 page papers, trust me I tried… multiple times… Most professors give you this magical paper called a syllabus that outlines the entire semester, due dates and all: USE IT!!!
3. Being alone can be a good thing. I love my friends to death but sometimes sitting alone in your dorm is exactly what you need. Think eating microwave mac-and-cheese in sweatpants while binge watching your newest TV obsession. My top Netflix suggestions include The Crown, How to Get Away with Murder and of course the classics: Gilmore girls and Gossip Girl.
4. Eat real food as often as possible. The occasional salad can work wonders. The best meals are the ones you cook with your friends in the dorm kitchens. Also pro tip: join a Greek organization, even the “bad” meals are good. Another pro-tip: befriend a local, their mother is probably an amazing cook and home cooked meals with family are always good for the soul.
5. Go to class. I know I sound like your mother, but just hear me out. Even when the professor says you can miss so many classes, that lecture you missed is one you can never get back. I felt like I was lost and failing after just thinking about skipping.
6. Have a social life. There is always someone doing something. Even if you don’t go to a party school, go out, make friends, get some ice cream, go on a random drive through the fancy neighborhoods in your college town, do something worthy of a Snapchat story. College is supposed to be fun, stressful but FUN!
7. Don’t take shortcuts. Unless you are trying to get across campus quickly, then by all means. But seriously, take pride in doing things fully and to the best of your ability. You will learn so much more by putting in the hard work.
8. Going to bed before midnight is a rare blessing. Whether you are cranking out a paper in the study dungeon or having a spontaneous dance party in your dorm, midnight always seems to sneak up on you. So take advantage of those nights when there is literally nothing to do and go to bed at a reasonable hour.
9. College is hard. I’m talking mental breakdown in the middle of the day at least twice a week hard. But remember, hard does not mean impossible. There will always be someone on campus that is willing to lend a helping hand.
10. You will meet at least one new person a day. It’s like the first day of school every day. Even at a small school (lol my campus has 20,000+ people on it, I think that’s small), there is always a chance to make a new friend. I have literally added so many people on Snapchat and Instagram this year, it is insane.
11. Everyone gets homesick. Whether you are from Alaska or Batesville, it isn’t easy being away from home. Calling your parents every once in a while can make a big difference (remember lesson #1). Also, going home before Thanksgiving doesn’t mean you are failing at the whole independent adult in college thing.
12. Boys are still boys. For some strange reason I had such high hopes for college boys. Maybe eventually they will grow out of it. To all my college boys reading this, I adore y’all but y’all still have a little growing up to do.
13. It is perfectly acceptable to drop a class. You aren’t a failure if there is one class that just kicks your butt. Just remember you can’t drop out of all your classes every time they get hard, because newsflash they are all hard.
14. Friends are family. There is absolutely, positively no way I could have survived this year without my friends. From daily motivational texts to random hugs in the library to family dinners at the Union, my friends were my literal lifeline these past nine months.
15. Change is so so so good. College is nothing like high school and it is the most amazing thing ever. On my first day of classes one of my professors told me that this place, Ole Miss, was going to change me. At first I didn’t know what he meant, but in retrospect I completely understand. I have grown so much intellectually, socially, spiritually, and hopefully not too much physically, over the past nine months and I have my freshman year of college to thank.