One year ago my room was
in boxes and I was headed for Utah State. I definitely did not feel ready to
leave home, but I did it anyways. Pretty much as soon as I settled in at USU I
realized that was not where I needed to be.
It was wrong. It felt wrong. When I
was walking on the beautiful campus from class to class, I didn’t feel like I
belonged there.
Every single Friday (sometimes
Thursday, I would ditch my Friday class, naughty I know) I would drive home
to see family and friends. And ever single Sunday night I would drive back to
Logan bawling my eyes out to my Mom.
It was hard. So hard. It
felt so unnatural.
Once I started spring
semester at the U, I felt like I was home again. I felt like I
belonged there.
At the same time, I felt
like I did things so backwards. I felt like I missed so much of what my friends
were doing because I was at USU for fall semester. I didn’t have the kind of
friends I wanted and I felt a little disconnected.
To sum up my freshmen
year, I would say it was a learning
experience. It was hard, but I
don’t regret any of the choices I made.
Now,
for all of you incoming freshmen I have a few pointers/ some advice
1.
If you’re
going away from home, BYU, USU, SUU, or Dixie, stay there for weekends:
That was something I didn’t do, and I know I
would have had a much better experience if I had stayed there during weekends.
You make more friends, you have a YSA ward that you’re involved in, and you are
part of the community. It may seem hard but try to stay, because it will make a
difference.
2.
Always
follow your heart; not your emotions
When choosing to go to USU I didn’t follow my
heart, I followed my friends choices and emotions. Ya know the feeling you get
when you know you are where you’re supposed to be? Look for that, because that
is what you need.
3.
Make
decisions for YOURSELF, not for family or friends:
Part of the reason I went to USU is because my
family didn’t want me to, and because my best friend was going to BYU and I
wanted to have a similar experience.
Always to be true to who you are and what you want.
4.
Make new
friends, but keep the old:
I know this sounds dumb… I am all for making
new friends. But my freshmen year I lost one of my very best friends. She went
to BYU and made tons of new friends, and pretty much forgot about our
friendship. Even when you make new friends (which you will!) remember to spend
time on old one.
5.
Things are
going to change:
Be ready for change, because it happens. This year will be full of it. Soak it up and
stay positive because things do get better.
6.
Be open to
all sorts of people:
In high school we all had our little groups,
and in college it still stays that way a little bit. But being open to everyone
will benefit you so much! I promise.
7.
If you’re
LDS, go to church:
It doesn’t matter if go to a YSA ward or your
home ward. Just go. This year is the easiest year to stop going, and if you
stop going you will loose your testimony, and if you loose your testimony it
makes things 10x harder. Just go.
8.
Spoil
yourself:
I know you’re a poor college student. But…
when you get married and have kids (if you plan on doing that in the future)
you can’t spoil yourself as much. Get new clothes, jewelry; anything that makes
you happy, because you’re young and you can do that right now. Make spending
money available.
9.
Freshmen
15:
Is a myth (for me anyways), I didn’t gain ANY
weight! And I lived away from home, ate microwave mac and cheese, top ramen,
and nasty cafeteria food for 6 months and didn’t gain a pound. But I did get
sick, really sick from not eating right. My advice is to just eat right,
whether you gain weight or get sick from it, it’s not worth it.
10.
Have fun:
You
only have this time once. “All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage. Just
20 seconds of embarrassing bravery” Be brave, have fun, make new friends, laugh
a lot, don’t be scared, don’t let people make you nervous they are just people,
let your heart lead you, and don’t have an regrets.
If I had known some of these things my
freshmen year things would have been different. I definitely did not have the
best year, but it was a learning experience and I’m grateful I had it then
rather than later.
I hope something I said helped someone.
Just be yourself and find yourself
It’ll be worth it.
xoxo
