How to Survive Freshman Year

So, you’re starting college/University this upcoming Fall and you want to gain a little idea about how to survive your freshman year huh? You’ve probably heard all about the crazy hard teachers, piles of work, wild parties, mentally unstable dorm mates and horrible grades. Well I have a couple things that tend to bring some solace to any hectic college student’s life. Many of us transitioning from High School to University have no idea about the things that we are getting into and let’s face it, regardless of how excited you are about gaining some independence; I know you are nervous as hell about making new friends and getting acclimated to your new environment. Take from a pro that spent half of her nights crying over her Chemistry book and binging on Netflix until 4 am when she had an 8 am class the next morning. College is not fun if you don’t know how to make it that way. Balance is something that will come with experience. And no Mr./Ms. Know-it-all, you do not have all your crap together, BELIEVE ME. No matter how organized, popular, happy, or sad you were in high school, I promise that college will demolish the old you and build {ENTER NAME HERE} 2.0. So I am here to remedy this situation and give you a couple of ideas that will make your visit in hell a lot cooler.

1. Barnes & Nobel’s and Amazon.com

The best way to get to someone’s anxiety is to dig deep in their wallet. I might face heavy lawsuits later, but here is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth: UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE ARE LYING TO YOU!

Quick story:

During my freshman year of University I signed up to take a Music class. For this music class I had to purchase a portfolio to keep my sheet music well organized in. At the time I did not have a car and my friends-with-cars network was underdeveloped so I could not get off campus to purchase a simple binder for $2 at the most. I marched my sweet, innocent, and oblivious behind to the campus bookstore and found a simple, black, 3-ring binder. The University bookstore accepts outside payment but students mostly use their ID’s with an {undisclosed amount} on it. To cut the story short I ended up paying a hefty price of $5.50 for a little binder!

Anyway these two stores will be your savior when it comes to buying/renting books that you need. DO NOT BUY SUPPLIES FROM YOU UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE! Or book for that matter, well, only if you don’t have to. Amazon.com is life! Not every book a class calls for is needed and it doesn’t all ways need to be kept. Does your Bio book cost $450.00? Rent that baby for $50-150 at Amazon or Barnes & Nobles. Just believe your College Guru and save that money for a Netflix account, which brings me into number two.

2. Netflix

Americas REAL favorite pastime and the life partner of binging movie/TV watchers and college students. Here is the simple formula of Netflix:

College Student + Boredom/Stress/Depression/Life = BINGE ON NETFLIX

It’s just that simple. $7.99 a month has never felt so well spent and I guarantee that you will not regret it. Later on I’ll describe the rules to Netflix Usage. Just know when times get hard and you need a positive outlet to melt your brain and keep you entertained, Netflix is your quick stop shop.

3. Food…or lack thereof

Ramen. That’s it, just ramen. This simple packet of noodles has been the saving grace to so many college students on the brink of death by starvation. You can get it at Wal-Mart for 18 cents and can add just about anything to it and it will taste good (I liked adding kidney beans or corn). When it comes to eating on campus, most schools have a meal plan for their students and if you run out of meals for the week you are screwed. In that case you have your little package of sunshine waiting for you in a draw back in your dorm room. My only advice on this is: beware of the freshman 100. Why is my number so high you may ask? Well, weight gain doesn’t go the same for everyone, especially females. Ramen has a way of creeping up on you and if you don’t be careful it will ruin you.

4. Friends

This is so cliché I know, but it is the honest and realist truth. There is a friend for everyone and you have no excuse to not look for them. Making friends is hard only if you haven’t tried. Do you like art? Join the art club and there is bound to be someone there with similar interest (I would hope). Do you love makeup or hair? Look for the girl that makes sure hers is perfect every day and go talk to her. Go to campus common areas and the cafeteria. Take a walk across campus or ride your longboard {someone is bound to comment on it}. Just DO NOT stay held up in your room watching Netflix or just studying. Listen to me, when you get out of college and apply to grad schools or enter your career, your studies would have brought you only so far. You have to know how to balance social life and your school work. It’s possible, but it won’t come right off the bat, I mean look at me, one C in chemistry and a couple of friends later… I’m still making it.

5. YouTube

Lord bless the day that the YouTube creators birthed the idea of this website. I’m not sure if I’m just old here or what, but I have seen this site come a LONG way. There is nothing like sitting back on your twin sized bunk bed with a bowl (or cup) of hot ramen noodles relaxing and watching someone make a complete fool out of themselves, or play a video game, or do their makeup. Here’s the deal with YouTube, just like on a college campus, anything you want you can find. It is really the greatest resource for study and play. I guarantee, unless you are some rich or extremely smart kid, you will not be bringing a TV with you the first time around. Even if you do, who’s to say that the college even has cable? You WILL NEED YouTube, do not deny yourself the carnal pleasure that is instant entertainment.

Here are some channels that brought me through my misery:

1. Shane Dawson TV

2. SuperFruit (& PTXOfficial)

3. TodrickHall

4. BuzzFeed

5. Nerdist and/or CollegeHumor

6. Cinemasins (Just for Saul) :)

All this to say I hope that your journey through undergrad will bring you much pleasure. You can make it I promise!