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 »