Freshman move-in season is officially here. As a university senior, I remember how much of a roller-coaster freshman year was, with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Here are five things you probably haven’t thought of but will thank yourself later on for knowing:
- Give yourself permission to be gentle: There’s no toolbook to being a perfect freshman. There’s no rule that says you have to handle everything perfectly from day one. Grades, social life, and independence are all part of a massive learning curve. Celebrate small wins: finding your favorite study spot, getting to know your roommate, surviving your first cafeteria meal.
- Fear and curiosity are often inseparable: You will feel scared of new friendships, challenging courses, and walking alone at night. And you will feel curious: curious to explore your college town, to stay up late talking about everything, to discover campus corners. These emotions often coexist. Don’t try to separate them. Lean into both: fear sharpens your instincts, curiosity expands your experience. Together, they make you resilient.
- Alone doesn’t mean lonely: Your first year will challenge your assumptions about solitude. It’s easy to conflate being alone with being lonely. But there’s a difference: loneliness is a hollowness that presses on you, whereas being alone can be a deliberate, restorative act. Alone time is where you meet yourself fully, notice the patterns of your mind, and practice self-compassion. And surprisingly, these periods of solitude often make your connections with others richer, because you’ve learned to be comfortable in your own presence first.
- First-year mistakes are invisible in hindsight: The first year is a testing ground,: a place for missteps, wrong turns, and awkward interactions. That embarrassing comment in class, the misread social cue in a group project and the forgotten assignment will sting at the moment. You feel like everyone will remember and judge, but almost none of it matters in the long run. These first-year mistakes dissolve quietly in hindsight, leaving behind great dinner anecdotes. Learning to forgive yourself early, to recognize that errors are part of growth, is one of the most powerful skills you’ll carry forward.
- Your mental clutter mirrors your room: A first-year dorm is like a living diary, where your mental state and physical space mirror each other. Clothes pile up on chairs, notebooks lie open with half-finished assignments, and your desk seems to groan under a miscellany of pens, snacks, and random receipts. This chaos often reflects what’s happening in your head: deadlines, homesickness, excitement, and exhaustion colliding all at once. Tidying your space isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s a powerful, almost meditative way to reclaim control over your thoughts. Folding a shirt, stacking a notebook, or wiping down a desk can become a quiet affirmation.
By the end of your first year, you’ll have learned lessons that go beyond syllabi and exams: how to be present, how to navigate discomfort, how to carve out your own space in a world that constantly moves. Freshman year is an exhilarating, frightening time but one that will ultimately help you grow as a person.
