Freshman Year-
College is a great experience. It's exciting, new, scary, and extremely tough all at the same time. There are a ton of fun times to be had and people to meet. The thing that makes me sad is the fact that there are freshman who are not having a positive first year experience. I had a blast my freshman year. I did a ton of stupid things, stayed up very late, slept in, didn't study and was a true and complete FRESHMAN. I know a handful of freshman who are very lonely, don't have a good friend to talk to, and don't really do fun things with other people. It breaks my heart because they should be having a great time not spending all their time alone in the library or lonely in their apartments.
There is a way to help this that I learned about my first year at college. First, moving away from home and living on your own with complete strangers is scary. I know that young adults don't want to admit it, but it's hard. I was homesick for the first two weeks of school. I cried the first couple of times I called home because I felt so lonely. The remedy to this is to get involved. Being involved in a ward, club, or social group gives you something to focus on besides yourself. It fills your life and you don't have time to be lonely. And you usually have fun doing things. Second, people are selfish and stupid. They usually won't come to you to make friends. So sometimes in order to make friends you need to suck up your pride and courage and make the first move. There aren't many people who won't be willing to talk to you and make friends. It can be hard to do. In the beginning I didn't know people so I would go to things by myself like sports games and concerts. It would have been more fun if I had invited people to go with me. I had a hard time learning how to befriend people, but usually they are waiting for an invitation so why not be the inviter? I made a few friends freshman year just by inviting them to come to dinner with me in the cafeteria. Then you look for more people who need someone to eat with and pretty soon you have a huge party going on. There was one boy freshman year who spent the whole year avoiding the dinner rush so he could eat by himself and not look wierd. Then my friends and I started making him eat with us when we saw him. We got to know him and he felt more comfortable. Hopefully he enjoyed his experience and felt like he could have friends. The best way to get more friends is to be outgoing and friendly yourself. This also helps to cut away the loneliness when you have good friends to surround yourself with. Pretty soon you will find that time has passed quicker than you thought and you want more time. It is best to live it up and not miss out on anything. Sometimes this means involving yourself, (again people are stupid and don't always remember everyone), but you will eventually have a great time.
I know that there won't be anyone who will really benefit from reading this but I just want to say that it is hard learning to live on your own, make new friends and start a college education. But I did it and many others did too. I used to walk around campus watching friends greet each other and wonder how they even knew each other in the masses of people when I couldn't recognize a face. Now I have the same thing happen to me. It just takes time and perseverance. Some of my best memories are from my times in Helaman Halls. Late night chats with friends, discovering facebook, photoshoots, getting stranded in SLC, going to Denny's at 2 am, wasting time at the cannon center, visiting hours, home teachers, functioning in a ward, the dollar theater, having the doorms be your whole world, watching the Amazing Race in the basement, ward talent show, being on campus late at night, late night antics in general, and yes even breaking my leg had some good experiences like having my own personal goodbye party, my girlfriends sleeping on the hard floor of my room for my last night, getting a priesthood blessing from newly ordained Melchezidik (?) priesthood holders, and the poster everyone signed. I have a lot of great memories that could not have been had anywhere else. I am grateful for the time I spent as a freshman in the doorms because it was the right amount I needed to handle in order to grow at that time. I just wish that everyone could have had as positive experience as I did. I know there are some tough things to deal with like roommates you don't get along with but you still can have a positive experience. I wish with all my heart that others will have a positive first year also.
