Advice for Incoming Students of Every Year

By Caroline Karrh

As you clicked on this article, you may be thinking to yourself, “Who is this girl and why is she qualified to give me advice about college?” Well, to answer your question, I am a stranger to you, and I don’t think that makes me qualified. Yet, I digress.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I hope you enjoy my (unsolicited but hopefully somewhat valuable) advice for students in every year of undergrad.

To the incoming freshman…

If you are anything like me, and I hope you aren’t, you are terrified. Maybe you are one of the bold, brave types, who lets change sweep over you like warm summer wind ruffling your hair. Myself, I am the one bent against the swell, hood up and head down, avoiding the winds of change like a sailboat in a hurricane.

Regardless of the way you choose to embrace (or avoid) change, it is here. No longer are your hometown friends across the hall or down the street. Your parents aren’t there to see you off to school or tell you goodnight. The well-worn floors of your childhood home become the crappy carpet and cheap throw rugs of your dorm room. And home-cooked meals become Dining Dollar takeout and microwavable ramen. Practically every area of your life has been flipped upside down. Except you. At least, for now.

You are still yourself, though now you can choose to be anyone. You can introduce yourself with a new nickname or change the way you wear your hair. No one is there to tell you not to be who you will become because of who you have been. Take this and embrace the freedom it gives you. There are only a few chances in life where you can be anyone you want to be. Take this one. Lean into exploring new corners of yourself and find new avenues of self-expression.

Remember, however, that your experience so far has led you to everything you are. You are a product of everyone and everything you have ever known. Everyone who has loved you, hurt you or touched you in some way has molded you into the person you are at this present moment. This is 18 years of history collected inside yourself. You are a library of your own life experience. Don’t forsake everything you are for the temporary satisfaction of becoming someone even you do not recognize. Becoming that person will only leave you confused and disconnected from yourself.

Embrace the change that leads you to a version of yourself you will be proud of. Try new things, sit with new people and go to new places. But don’t forget to call your mom and make your bed and watch the TV show that always makes you feel at home. You can be who you are while at the same time becoming who you someday will be. And that starts today.

Oh, and go to class.

To the incoming sophomore…

Congratulations are in order! You have survived what is possibly the most confusing year of your life (so far). If freshman year was a corn maze, sophomore year would be the Ferris wheel.

You have probably found a friend group and declared a major and figured out at which coffee shop you would like to study. Returning to campus feels like coming home. Hopefully, you have found your footing in college and feel comfortable in the path you chose last year. Don’t let this comfort turn into complacency or apathy.

I challenge you to push yourself out of the comfort zone you have so carefully created. Knock down walls you have built to keep yourself from feeling afraid or insecure. Try to do something that scares you every day. If you’re lucky, you might find something that sticks. And if you’re unlucky, you will end up with some really good stories to tell.

College is about finding your passion, finding your people, and finding yourself. You can’t do that if you never go further than you went last year. Sophomore year is what you make it. Make it more.

To the incoming junior…

Before we begin, I need you to breathe now, as, if your experience is anything like mine, you won’t get a chance to take another one until about mid-May. Breathe in, breathe out. Ready? Ok.

Junior year is a marathon. That’s the best way to describe it. Some days you will feel like you are flying, barely even hitting the ground between your strides. Your legs are strong, and your arms are pumping and the volume in your headphones is just right. Other days, you feel like you are on mile 25, crawling towards the finish line shimmering in the distance. Your knees are scraped and bleeding and you just got passed by an octogenarian wearing a knee brace.

The days will be long, and you will be tired. Some days will be good, and some days will be bad. Make the most of both, but don’t feel guilty for feeling like some things suck. Some things just suck and that’s all there is to it.

Time is your greatest commodity this year. Don’t let anyone or anything waste it. Stop giving energy to people, places and things that zap your energy or dim your light. Dump the boy that won’t return your texts. Stop hanging out with the girl who tears you down. Pull out of clubs and organizations that waste your time or overlook your value (with politeness and respect and appropriate prior notice). Time is precious, and it’s important to spend it doing things that build you up and help you grow.

Enjoy turning 21 and celebrate like you mean it. Enjoy your friends turning 21 and celebrate them like you mean it. They are the ones who make junior year worth it. Sing, dance, laugh, cry. And most of all, breathe.

To the incoming senior…

There probably isn’t a piece of advice I could offer that you haven’t heard already. Soak in every moment, cherish the proximity to your friends for you will soon be spread across the country, experience all the things and live every memory like it’s the last, and on and on. I am not naive enough to believe I am above the redundancy of these words of wisdom, but I will do my best to offer advice I feel would soothe my own achy, nostalgic heart.

The time will pass anyway. It’s important that you understand this now before we go further. The time will pass regardless of whether we dig our heels in or put our heads in the sand or ride it like a surfer on a wave. The time will pass, and we will pass with it. Try to look this fact in the eye without staring too hard. Recognize it, then move along. You can’t enjoy the moment without being in it.

You may find sadness in the fact that all the moments you experience now will soon become memories, but with sadness, you may also find solace. Feel the melancholy of knowing that soon this part of your life will be a memory but find peace in the fact that these memories will be yours to keep, to hold on to and squeeze tight when you need them. Recognize the comfort in knowing that just as the joy of the present moment will pass, so will the times of sadness, or of fear. You will soon look back and smile. You will look back and laugh.

Laugh loudly, smile warmly and breathe deeply. Feel the feelings and let them go. Call your mom, hug your best friend and forgive your sister for stealing your favorite shirt. When you have a headache drink water and when you feel weepy take a nap. Take your medicine and take a walk and take this advice with a grain of salt. Just go, and do, and think, or don’t think, but you must know the time will pass anyway. So go pass the time.