Monday, December 29, 2014

5 Mistakes I Made in My First Semester of College

Since starting this blog, I have moved to another state, started a new school, and am living with a stranger. As crazy as this might sound, it will probably make sense when I say that I have officially started college. This last semester has been full of crazy, hectic, stressful, and fun times. While college has been a great experience overall, I have made many mistakes and decided to highlight just a few of them in this blog post.


 1.  I expected friendship to form instantly. I planned to be best friends with my roommate and all of the girls in my major. This was far from what happened, as I instantly noticed that my roommate was not quite what I expected, nor did I particularly click with the girls in my major. This was extremely disappointing and made me pretty unhappy for the first month of school. It takes time to adjust to a completely new environment and make new meaningful friendships. I wish that I knew those friendships would eventually come, but that I had to wait and find the right people first.  

Does this picture even need a caption? Lets just say that yes, the pink bedding is mine. :)


      2.   I brought all of the dresses I owned, expecting to wear mostly dresses and nice clothes to class. However, when I arrived I quickly realized that everyone wore athletic shorts and T-shirts. I was very shocked by this, because not many people wore that attire at my high school. I should have brought more T-shirts.

Me trying to look all classy and nice in a dress. Whoops. :)

      3.  I did not have a rain jacket or rain boots. I figured that I had gone 18 years without such items so I would not need them now. However, the first time it rained I decided that these were very necessary items. A moat forms outside my dorm every time it rains and I unfortunately ruined a pair of shoes trudging through that muddy moat.

4.  The first month of school I cared way too much about what other people thought of me. I was afraid to be myself, and worried that I would be judged. I did not like walking around without makeup on or going to the bathroom in my oversized pajamas. While this is how my high school operated, I learned that college is very different. People do not judge one another on appearances, because everyone has flaws and quirks. At this point, people are much more mature and accepting of people’s differences (which is REALLY cool and reveals the shallowness of high school).
 
Just one out of the three forts I helped to make in the lounge this semester. 


5. The freshman fifteen is real. I quickly found myself snacking in the late hours of the night (which I never did at home). Along with unhealthy snacking and eating in general, I was much more sedimentary than usual. There would be days that I spent hours in the library without moving. Fortunately, I realized this was terrible for my health and made a drastic change that included exercising every day and choosing healthy snacks to get me through the day. After putting this new plan into action I definitely saw an improvement in my health and energy. (And I even lost a few pounds!)
Fried tortilla bowl from the cafeteria... I shudder at the amount of calories in that.... 


While these are just a few of the mistakes I have made in college, I am not looking back and regretting the choices I have made. I have learned from everything that has happened and have grown into a better and more knowledgeable person. College has really changed my perspective and outlook on life, and you can expect more blog posts about the experience. I am excited to look back in 4 years and see how much I have grown from this adventure.

In the lyrics of Tyler Ward,


            “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes-- at least you know your living”

So go out there, make mistakes, and LIVE!!

   Toodles!
     - Jess

1 comment:

  1. I am so happy that I was able to find this blog and I loved reading this post. Haha thanks for the extra encouragement to go out there and live, I think I needed that. :) Good luck with the rest of college!

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