Things I learned in the first month of my freshman year in college

Hey Internet! You're favorite East Tennessean here. (At least, I THINK I'm your favorite East Tennessean. Please don't tell me otherwise.) I've been so busy, I haven't had the chance to write! So, I started college. Finally. And even though I've only been here a little over a month, I've already noticed the differences from the fantasies that the wondrous Hollywood has created. So, to be short and sweet, here are Ten things I learned in the first month of College.


1.) Don't loft your bed.
    Everyone will tell you that "it'll save space" or "it's so cute." However, at Six AM, your feet can barely make it up and down the "ladder" they gave you. Plus, unless if your bed is flush up against the wall (unlike mine, thanks to the air conditioning machine), you're gonna feel like your bed will collapse every time you move in your bed. There are ways to make your room cute and functional without lofting your bed. So, if you want to loft your bed, just be warned. Mine lasted a month. And to be honest, I feel like I sleep better now that my bed is de-lofted.

2.) Communicate with your roommate.
  Now, most likely, you are rooming with a person who you don't see eye-to-eye with. That's typical. Most of my friends either don't like or are annoyed by their roommate. Personally, I feel lucky. My roommate and I get along relatively well. There are a few things we don't agree on, but all in all, I consider her one of my best friends. The main reason we can get along as well as we do is because we communicate. It's hard, especially if you are a person who doesn't like confrontation (Like myself). But you just gotta keep talking and working with your roommate. After all, you two are stuck together for a year. So attempt to get along with your roommate.

3.) Get some sleep.
  This is tougher than you think. In college, you don't have the same classes every day. One day you might have a class at eight am and then the next day not one until two. Your friends want to go out, homework goes until two, three, or even four o' clock in the morning. Sleep becomes a beautiful thing, quickly. So seriously, create an "open hours policy" for yourself. One my dad always enforced when I was a kid was no cell phone use from ten am to ten pm. So just create your own "open hours policy."

  4.)Bring all of the clothes you can. Seriously.
   This room is your home for a year. Sometimes it might even be your home until you graduate. Trust me when I tell you, bring your summer/fall clothes at once. Basically, get rid of the clothes that are either too small or you don't want, and bring the rest to campus. It's so much easier deciding what to wear than remembering something that you left at home when home could be three, four, even five hours away. You can always take back what you end up not wearing. But seriously, bring all of your clothes. Also, bring a pair of boots. Cowboy boots, work boots, fashion boots, anything. Just bring a pair of boots with you.

5.) DO YOUR LAUNDRY.
  This should go without saying, but please. Do your laundry. Momma isn't there to do it anymore. And your RA's sure wont. So find a day where you can set aside (at most) an hour and a half for your laundry. Another way is to do laundry when your laundry basket is full. But I don't recommend that.
(See number four)

6.) Call your mom.
    She misses you. A lot. This is the first time you are away from home for an extended period of time. She misses you. Yeah, you might have younger siblings to keep her busy, (Like myself, I have a fifteen year old sister.) Or, you could be the baby. So call your mom. At least once a week. Let her know how school's going. Tell her you love her. If you can, send her a gift. My mom and I had this rhyming game when I was little. She'd start off with "I love you more than a fox." I'd say, "I love you more than a box." We kept going until someone "lost." In order to help her with me not being in the house, I went to Walmart and bought two blank canvases and painted both of them with each saying. I gave her the "more than a box" one and I kept the "more than a fox." Simple, didn't cost me but maybe seven or eight bucks, and she absolutely loved it. Make sure you talk to your dad and your siblings too. They all miss you just as equally as your mom does. If you have younger siblings, keep invested in their lives. They look up to you, whether or not they tell you or not.

7.) Attendance DOES matter.
  Thanks to Hollywood, the idea of college has gotten this beautified façade of "Wow! I don't need to go to class! I can skip school and party and have fun!" (Please note my extreme sarcasm.)I go to a small, Liberal Arts, Presbyterian Affiliated college in the south. Teachers know who you are and are concerned with your grades. One of the main thing that I love about my school is how much the professors actually care. (Go Scots!!) Now, if you accidentally oversleep, that's alright. If you're sick, email your teacher. They understand. One thing that will make your teachers judge you and not help you in the long run is not showing up to class. So seriously guys, just show up and learn something. After all, that's what you're there for.

8.) Research your books before you buy. 
  College text books are expensive. My ASL 110 book alone was $100 from the bookstore. Honestly, go to the bookstore last. There are some really good websites to price match and even rent books from. I used www.slugbooks.com to price check and then I rented two of my books from www.chegg.com. On Chegg, I rented both books for $80. I saved about $200 dollars on those two books alone. Chegg also offers homework help, tutors, and flashcards on almost all devices. (Seriously, Chegg is awesome. No advertisement.)

9.) Get involved in the local community.
   Most likely, you're not even in the same area that you grew up in. Hopefully your school had some sort of fair thing that had booths from businesses around the area to give you some ideas of plugging into the community. Anything will look great on a resume. Volunteering at an animal shelter, tutoring students, helping out at the senior center, anything like that will give you a boost.

10.) Have fun.
   College is hard, and picky. Yes. However, once you find a group of friends that you love, college will be the highlight of your life. Find some friends who like the same stuff you do, go do them and love and support each other. Also, your school should have a Student Planning Board. They'll make movie nights, laser tag, Nerf Wars, you name it. Get involved and go to those. Just recently our SPB just put on a Jurassic World movie night. (Which the movie was AWESOME, if anyone hasn't seen it yet.) It was so fun getting to hang out with my friends and eat popcorn and watch one of the best movies of the year.

  If you're a high school senior, enjoy your last year. It goes by fast. Wear your letterman's jacket, as often as you can. Look and apply at some places, see which one has the best fit for you. I couldn't be happier at Maryville College. Go on campus tours. Find out what you love. Apply for scholarships, as many as possible. College can be the REAL best four years of your life, if you make it to be. Good Luck and God Bless! Abbey