It’s tough be a freshman. First semester, especially, is tough for freshmen to understand the ins and outs of being a successful college student. Being a freshman myself, I am constantly hearing funny stories of my friends trying to get used to the new college lifestyle. To help incoming freshman, to entertain upperclassmen, and to relate to current freshman, I asked some Saint Joe’s students a lesson they had to learn in college… the hard way.
1. Become familiar with your surroundings before your first day of class.
“I was trying to find Barbelin Hall on the first day of classes, and ended up finding myself on the McGuire Campus. Long story short, I got lost somewhere in the neighborhood behind McGuire Campus and had to use the GPS on my phone to make it back to campus.” – Mitchell McHale ‘20
2. Don’t take your home life for granted.
“I guess you really learn to appreciate the little things when you come to college. I regret not recognizing the value and quality of my high school friends, memories, and sports teams and I wish I had cherished them more. Also, you don’t realize the privilege of having a few bathrooms in your house, until you come to college and have to share one bathroom with 20 people; that’s not fun.” – Michael Pope ‘20
3. Comfort outweighs aesthetics.
“For my first weekend out at school, I decided to wear high heels to a house party (not knowing that is not the typical house party wardrobe), and tripped on the sidewalk going to the party, breaking my ankle and needing a boot for my first few months of college.” –Katie O’Brien ‘18
4. Sometimes it’s worth the wait.
“Just because you’re eating Campion, doesn’t mean it has to be unhealthy. Yeah, its most convenient to eat fries and a pizza every day, but sometimes waiting on line for the healthier options is the better route. Don’t get stuck in the bad habit of eating cookies every day, because “Freshman Fifteen” is not a myth.” – Catherine Brady ‘20
5. Always set an alarm.
“I went to take a quick nap after my 9:30 class, and ended up waking up in time just in time for dinner. I missed my other 2 classes that day, and it was only my second week of classes.” –Carrie Mahoney ‘20
