To all the parents of college freshmen

I know that we’re your babies. You fed us, changed our diapers, clean up our puke, stayed at our bedside, and fought off the monsters under the bed. We appreciate this. There are some things, however, that need to be addressed.

Don’t panic when we don’t call. We will call if we need something. When we don’t call, it means that we’re busy, we’re fine, and that we’re having a grand time doing our own laundry.

If we don’t call every night, every other night, or even every week, we are not dead. This does not give the right to call our RA, our advisors, or the cops to see if we are still alive. All this does is make us never want to talk to you again for humiliating us in front of our roommates and peers. (You think I’m joking. My roommate is read to kill her parents for calling the cops.)

If you’re that worried that we’re dead, send us a box of useful things: candy, soda, coffee, chocolate, clean clothes, rolls of quarters, laundry stuff.

I know that you remember the good old days of back when you were in college. At least, you think you do. College is both different and the same. There are many new obstacles, new tasks, and new hardships that didn’t exist 20+ years ago. For example, one of the many harmless pranks that you got away with will now get us expelled and sent to jail. Don’t give us ideas.

We value your advice, but rarely hear it. No offense, but we’ve been ignoring it for the past 18 or so years. When we ask for your advice, we really want it. And, yes, we know that you told us how to do this every day over the past summer, but we really need it now.

Factor in time zone changes when you call. There’s nothing more annoying to the rest of us than someone’s cell phone going off in the middle of class ever 2 minutes, followed by the ‘missed call’ sound, and finally followed by the ‘new voice mail’ sound. While your child’s ringtone is catchy and fun to dance to, the other sounds are annoying and grating.

Really, when we don’t call, it’s not that we don’t love you. It’s that we’re fine, busy, and having fun. Honestly. I promise. We’ll call in a week or two when we need something, and we’ll remind you how much we love you then.

**Simple Activities that Change**

If you are just beginning freshmen year, you will encounter simple daily activities that are vastly different than back home. It exposes students to a variety of different elements such as living in a small dorm room, community bathrooms and showers, and doing your own laundry. When you come down here you have to adapt to your new surroundings. These activities will obviously still have the same outcome just different ways of getting them accomplished.

My first example that changes greatly would be living in a small dorm room. At first, I did not think everything I brought would fit in these tiny rooms. You have to just bring down the necessities that you truly need and leave the rest back at home. You have to be organized and make sure you put everything back where you got it. Make sure you pick up all your trash and messes because your room will just fill up with clutter if not. Then you will never be able to locate anything in times of need and will be out of luck.

Another huge adjustment for me was the community bathrooms and showers. I never would have thought that I would be sharing the same bathroom with 54 other girls that are on my floor. One minute I have my own bathroom and the next anyone can use it. My advice to you would be to wear flip flops or shoes. You never know what is creeping around there that you might come in contact with, especially in the shower. I happened to be lucky and be on one of the floors where the bathrooms are usually neat and tidy. If everyone cleans up after themselves if they make a mess, it makes a worlds difference. You have to be considerate of the others that are around you and make sure you treat it as you would want them to treat it.

A third issue would be the simple task of doing your own laundry. In my first and second week of school, I have never seen so many people confused on how to start their own laundry. You just have to make sure you separate your clothes into darks and whites, put detergent into the machine, put it on the right settings, and hit start. I didn’t think it took a brain surgeon to figure it out but they were so many people down in the laundry room making it seem like some complex ordeal. A helpful tip is to make sure you save up your quarters! Do your laundry during the weekdays because on the weekends it is packed. I learned from personal experience when I did it on Sunday night I had my clothes washed and then no dryers were available so I had to wait 10 minutes. You do not want to wait down in that hot, steamy room for a dryer. I think it is good way to build some responsibilities up and not just depend on your mother to do your own laundry.

life lessons in college

College admissions like to let you think that they are telling you everything. If they actually told you everything, most people wouldn’t go to college.

That’s why this guide is here. Here are a few things that I’ve discovered over the past month:

-Quarters are the most desired form of currency. You need them for vending machines and to do your laundry.

-Text books are heavy and cost as much as they weigh. If you can, trade textbooks with roommates and friends. You save around $100, and you also get tips from the people who have taken the class.

-Mail and packages make you feel special. Even if it’s just your mom sending you detergent, it boosts your ego.

-Having clean laundry is as much of an ego booster as passing a class. It comes more often.

-A ‘C’ in college is like an ‘A’ in high school. They are just as frequent and mean the same thing. Don’t fret if you’re a straight A student. Getting a C is not the end of the world.

-Coffee, tea, Mt. Dew, and Coke are your new favorite drinks. Don’t get anything that doesn’t have caffeine.

-Naps are a wonderful thing, especially after a 7:30 AM class.

-Exams are rarely during class. They will generally be in the evening.

-If you’re a female, get some mace or some pepper spray. It’s a must have on a college campus. As the cliché goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

I’ll add more when I learn more, which I’m sure I’ll have plenty to add in the coming months!