Despite being two days away from moving out of my dorm, the fact that my first year of college is coming to an end hasn’t quite hit me yet. Maybe it’s the final exams I have yet to take or the paper I still need to revise, but I have a feeling I won’t really feel like the end of the year is here until everything is submitted, my room is packed, and I’m on the highway heading home.
Still, the end is unmistakably coming—the last few weeks have been a blur of final concerts and events, presentations, and study sessions, and last night I said goodbye to the first of my friends to move out. It’s been a little bittersweet, honestly. Sweet because, to put it nicely, I’m exhausted. It’s been a long year, and I’m looking forward to some well-deserved time off at home with good food and no deadlines looming over me. But a little bitter, too, because there are some things that will probably never be the same again. Oberlin won’t be brand-new to me anymore, and the chances of living in the same hallway of the same building as almost all of my friends again are very low. I won’t be in the same activities with the same people, and there are classes I can never take for the first time again. Like it or not, my second year will be different from my first, and before long, this year will just be a memory.
I’m pretty sure that it’ll be a good memory, though.
When I was in high school, I idealized college as my chance to have new, exciting experiences far from the boring school I attended at the time. I thought it’d be a dream come true to start, and in many ways, it was. College wasn’t quite the perfect fantasy I imagined—I definitely had my share of struggles—but I still had the time of my life on nights out and nights in with friends, in classes I loved, and in activities I’d always wanted to try. I also got my dream (campus) job—writing these blog posts. I used to read the admissions blogs religiously when I was applying to Oberlin, and now here I am writing one, and it’s been incredibly fun to share some things about my life here with you. So, despite the things that went wrong throughout this year, I think that, overall, they turned out all right in the end.
As a parting gift for now, here are a few last lessons from the year.
- Drop the class. Both semesters so far I’ve had a class I wanted to drop, convinced myself to keep, and absolutely regretted keeping by the end of the year. Add/drop exists for a reason and I wish I’d taken advantage of it. If you have doubts about a class early on, things probably won’t get a whole lot better, at least in my experience, so unless it’s a class you absolutely need for your major, you’d probably be better off without it.
- Try everything! Okay, maybe not everything, because there are only so many hours in a day, but be open to new experiences. I didn’t think I’d like going to parties in college and now some of my favorite memories from the year are from parties I went to with my friends, so don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone.
- Find a balance. This is something I’m still trying to figure out for myself—first semester I felt really overcommitted and much busier than most people I knew, and second semester, despite my personal schedule not really changing, I suddenly felt like I wasn’t involved enough. However, I think I got close eventually. If you can figure out a way to balance classwork, time with friends, time for yourself, and activities, you’ll be much happier.
- Take care of yourself. I know, I know, it’s super tempting to stay up until 3am every night and eat junk food constantly, but speaking from experience, in the long run you’re hurting yourself more than you’re helping. It took me a while to learn this one as well, but sleeping better and finding other ways to take care of myself have helped immensely with my mental health, and it turns out when I’m not being anxious over every little thing, college is a lot more fun.
- Enjoy the small victories. Even if things aren’t perfect, there are still little things to celebrate. Create traditions for yourself (my favorite so far has been getting myself a nice meal out before a final exam, a tradition I will be continuing this afternoon) and treat yourself to nice things every once in a while. College is hard and you deserve to pat yourself on the back for making it through!
Speaking of making it through, after countless hours of work and literal blood, sweat, and tears, I’ve managed to survive my first year of college—and you can, too. I’m so grateful to Oberlin for all the memories, good and bad, and I’m looking forward to the next three years, regardless of the changes they’ll bring, and to a summer of rest and relaxation. Can’t wait to write again next fall!
Signing off for now,
Gabrielle
