As my first year of college comes to an end, I’m starting to study for finals, I’m beginning to dread going home, and I’m mourning the end of my status as a freshman. Choosing second year classes and housing, remind me that the promise of being a sophomore in college is right around the corner, and this scares me. Sure, there are lovely perks that come with graduating to upperclassman status. So, in honor of my freshman pride, here are the top 5 reasons why I want to be a freshman forever.
Living on campus is one of my favorite perks of freshman living. Sure, dorm life may not be luxurious or spacious, but being so close to so many people my age is extremely beneficial socially. Seeing friendly faces from the moment I leave my room is so comforting, especially since I didn’t know a single person when I first came to Saint Joe’s. Living in such close proximity makes it so easy to make good friends very quickly. Being without a car, it is easy to simply walk over to another residence hall to see my friends who don’t live in my building. Next year, living situations are way more spread out, and personally, many of my friends are living across campus, so it will be much harder to see them.
2. Since I’m living so far away from main campus, I won’t have an unlimited meal plan, which may sound like a good thing, but I do not want to have to take care of myself. After a long day of classes, I don’t want to have to cook myself something to eat. Plus, healthy food is much more expensive than junk food, so my budget probably won’t allow for many healthy alternatives. It’s so easy to simply swipe into Campion and have options hot and ready for me to eat or just build my own personal salad.
- I’m not ready to make important decisions just yet. Sure, you don’t technically have to declare your major until the end of sophomore year, but it would definitely be a challenge to switch it, or decide to go in a different direction. With GEPs slowing getting checked off the list, I now have to start planning my schedule to work around what I want to do with my life. It’s a lot of pressure to put on a 19-year-old girl!
- I legitimately enjoy not having my car. Sure relying on walking or the shuttle may not always be ideal, but I love that I don’t have to worry about paying for gas, parking, or traffic. If I had my car, I would probably forget about it and it would get neglected, so I would rather have my family take care of it while I’m gone.
With my first year of college ending, it reminds me that time does fly, and before I know it, it’ll all be over. I want to continue to learn and have fun and discover myself, and I am scared that time is going by too fast. Being a freshman for all eternity doesn’t sound like a great solution, but I’m sure any adult or upperclassmen would love to go back in time and relive their first months of college. I’m going to miss the newness of it all, asking dumb “freshman” questions, and meeting so many new people every day. They say these are the best years of our lives. I just don’t want it to end.
-Kaitlyn Patterson
