While many upperclassmen spend their O-week making fun of the typical freshmen antics, I’d like to take a moment to reminisce on a simpler time: my freshmen year. I’ll admit that I’m just as guilty as anyone else of making fun of the newbies, but truth be told, I’m jealous of them. I have one more year of school, then college as I know it is a thing of the past. I’ll have to get a real job and learn how to be a real person.
So here it is – a list of the things I miss most about my first year at the ‘Nell:
1. Being in the same boat as everyone around you.
For many students, college is the first time you ever really get away from home. By the end of the four years, many will pursue different tracks – so appreciate this shared experience with others as you embark on the same journey together.
2. Everything is still so new.
As much as I love Slope Day, I’m sure that my fourth go ‘round will have lost some of its appeal. I know what to expect from Homecoming, Rush, Slope Day, and even finals week – but somehow, that takes some of the excitement out of it.
3. Living in the same place as all your friends.
This campus is huge, and people tend to get divided up across campus in Greek housing, on-campus dorms and collegetown apartments. The north campus community is truly designed for freshmen. Everyone around you is also living the dorm experience. There’s nothing like joining the crowd at Nasty’s and popping by your friends’ dorms at the drop of a hat.
4. Having a freshman year floor is possibly the only time in your life where you get to live with a large number of truly random people.
There’s some beauty in the fact that you don’t choose the people around you. My friends from my freshman floor are all so different, and I think that was part of the reason we all worked so well together. Embrace your freshman floor because, just like family, you only get one.
5. You don’t need to know yet what you’re doing with your life.
It’s okay to be undecided freshman year. People don’t expect the same sort of career certainty from you as they do when you’re a senior. You’re allowed to try things and mess up. You can be pre-med and drop and no one bats an eye. So enjoy the uncertainty while you can, and explore new options every day.
6. Sunday brunch at RPCC.
It had to go in here somewhere. In addition to getting an expansive brunch with the swipe of a card, you also don’t have to cook it for yourself. When you’re an upperclassmen without a car and you run out of groceries…well, then you’re just out of luck.
