Tips for College Freshmen

It's that time of year where freshmen are getting ready to move into the dorms of their college for the first time. It's pretty much a guarantee that you are feeling a lot of different emotions as you prepare to leave home and start this new adventure. It can overwhelming, nerve-wracking, and scary. However, it doesn't have to be. Here's my post to leave you incoming freshmen with some tips that might ease your stress.

1. Don't overfill your room. When I moved in to Frances-Crawford last year, I had about 4 large totes, boxes upon boxes of random junk, all of the clothes from my closet at home (except winter clothes), and so much more. My parents ended up taking home so much of my stuff and I just felt even more overwhelmed by deciding to leave stuff behind once I got to school. Only bring what is necessary. Sure you need to decorate your room so you feel motivated and productive, but don't bring an abundance of games, movies, and knick-knacks. There simply isn't room for them and there isn't time for you to use them. At Christmas I brought home even more stuff that I thought I would use that I didn't even touch during the first semester.
2. Communicate with your roommate. If you've read my post about my bad roommate experience my first semester of college, then you know that it was pretty rough. I think that part of what caused the situation to get so bad is that my roommate never talked to me about being upset or didn't confront me about things that she didn't like that I did. It just all built up for her and then she exploded with anger and frustration. That being said, it is vital to a happy roommate relationship for you to set some ground rules between the two of you and for you to communicate your differences. 
3. Go to Freshmen Orientation events! Something that I wish would have been more possible for me is to have been able to attend more orientation events. Freshmen Orientation at Ouachita is called WOW a.k.a. Welcome to Ouachita's World. We are separated into groups with your roommate and several other freshmen and you have two upper classmen leading you in group activities and telling you about some of the traditions at OBU and what campus life is like, etc. Last year however, band camp, which is our band practices before school starts, and WOW were at the same time. So, I didn't get to go to all of the WOW events, because I was at band. I felt like I missed out on so many opportunities and making more friends during the important first week before school starts. Some of the stuff may feel lame but those are the establishing memories that you will have about your school and they are so so important. 
4. Use a planner. College professors expect a lot more responsibility from you than your high school teachers did. On Syllabus Day for your classes, I highly recommend that you take all of your dates from the syllabuses you get and write them in a planner. Most professors will not accept late work so you MUST keep yourself organized and on top of things. 

Those are my top tips to go by. Try your best not to get too deep into the party scene. It's so common for college students to use their college years to drag out their childish years and make stupid decisions that haunt them forever. Just get through your college years by staying focused, making great friends that last you a life time, and earning your degree. Find a good balance for your social life, school work, and physical, emotional, and spiritual sanity. ~Em