Things I've Learned in My Freshman Year of College

I can officially say that I am done with my freshman year of college. It was a long and hard road but I am glad I got that done and over with. Here are some things I learned in my freshman year of college that I wish someone would have told me.

• After a while cafeteria food sucks: Going into college, I was like cafeteria food won't be that bad I have eaten it all 12 years of school. Boy was I wrong! University of Arkansas has a Meal Trade where from 7-10pm you can eat at one of the fast food places on campus and it counts as a meal in your plan. But after the first semester I could not eat anymore Slims Chicken or Papa John's Pizza or Burger King. So i went to the cafeteria and they had such weird hours, and the food wasn't as great besides a couple things. 

• You are tired 95% of the time: I don't even know how this is possible, but in college I was always tired. Whether it was from staying up and studying, walking up and down hills for my classes, or 8am classes I was always tired. I would come home for christmas break and just sleep. I also learned that naps are good at the time, but bad in long term because you probably napped during your homework or study time. In the end, making you stay up late to finish and being tired the next day. 

• Don't do laundry Saturday or Sunday: Everyone does their laundry Saturday or Sunday, I would pick a time to do your laundry when you think nobody is in the dorms. Such as if you don't have a class till 1pm do it in the morning because once 3pm hits everyone will be doing laundry. Also, put a timer on your phone for when your laundry is done, don't be that person that leaves it in all day.

• Go to a teacher's office hours: This really important if you are in a class of 200 students, the teacher will never know who you are.Just go into your teacher's office hours to introduce yourself, it will help. Especially, if you need help on something going into my teacher's office hours helped me raise my essay grade from a B to an A. This will also help you if you are at a border line grade and the teacher sees that you come to class every day and went to their office hours, they might be nice enough to bump your grade up. 

• DO EXTRA CREDIT: This is probably the most important thing I have learned in my freshman year. I did so much extra credit, even when I didn't need to but let me tell you on the days that I didn't do so good on one of my papers or test that extra credit was there to balance me out. In my English class I was sitting at an 88% and I still had a paper to write, I ended up getting a B on my paper, but because I did that extra credit I ended up making an A on the paper. Which turned my 88% to an A in the class. 

• Getting a C in a class is okay: I am a perfectionist, I can deal with a couple of B's but to me a C is failing....Until i took Principles of Biology. I am an education major, so science isn't really my forte. This class however was a class that biology major had to take as their intro class, and as an education major you are required to take it. However, this class wasn't easy.. I studied so hard for these tests, went to all the tutoring sessions and was determined to get a B in the class. However that wasn't the case I ended up ending the class with a C with 2% from having a B which killed me. But after a while, I realized it was only one class. It was not going to determine whether I was going to be a good teacher or not. Getting a C is average, everyone is  either going to fail or have a C in a class it just happens... so its okay.

• Join Clubs: I know that college can be stressful at times, and you feel like you don't have time for anything. However, joining a club will help you get your mind off of things, and help you relax and have fun with friends for a bit. It is also great because you get to meet new people, and trust me, in college there is a club for everything, and if there is not make your own. I joined a club called Foundation of International Medical Relief for Children. We got to do bake sale's and went out for percentage nights. We also have a Go Fund Me, we are currently raising money for children in Uganda if you would like to donate. 

• Have some fun: Don't spend your time studying all day, go out and have some fun. My best memories with my friends are our late night iHop runs, concerts, going hiking up in the Ozark mountains, having chair races down the halls, football games, and basketball games. There are times when you just have to go out and enjoy yourself because your only going to be this young once. So go out and have some fun.

I hope this has helped you guys, and help you be a little more prepared for college because trust me I didn't know what I was walking into either.