HOW WE SURVIVED FRESHMAN YEAR (BY TYRA)

Hold up wait a minute, y'all thought we were finished? How We Survived Freshman Year is a two-part series full of advice for incoming college freshman. Up next, we have our newest contributor, Tyra! Give her a warm welcome to Nerdy Naturals by following her on Twitter: @tywhye, and Instagram: @tywhye. Scroll down to see the SIX ways Tyra survived her freshman year of college!

Tyra

Tyra
Contributor

Twitter: @tywhye
Instagram: @tywhye
Snapchat: @tywhye

Hi, I'm Tyra, and one of the newest contributors to the Nerdy Naturals blog! I'm a rising sophomore Economics major and Psychology minor. I'm passionate about marketing and PR, visual arts, and makeup. Keep reading to see how I survived my freshman year of college!

1. CALL YOUR PARENT(S)! I can guarantee they love and miss you. Even if you guys didn’t really get along in high school they miss you and chances are you miss them too. Just hearing their voices will make your and their day better. If you are stressed, upset, or stuck in a situation where you have no idea what to do, call them. You might be afraid they will be disappointed in you because you are having difficulty adapting to being a completely self sufficient adult, but I can almost guarantee they won't be disappointed. They raised you, they know what you are capable of. They also know that while you might technically be an adult in the eyes of the law,  you are still growing and will be for the rest of your life. You got into college, you have come this far already. At this point, your parents are here to support you emotionally and do everything they can so you can graduate and be happy. Remember, they just want you to be successful and live up to your full potential so that you can be happy and stress-free as an adult. If you are having a great day, call them! Let them know what you did today. You spent your whole life with your parents and now they have no idea what you are up to. Giving them peace of mind won’t just help them, but it will also help you understand that  your parents are your biggest fans and are constantly rooting for you!

2. 
   
   UNDERSTAND THAT GPA ISN'T EVERYTHING. You will constantly hear the saying, “Pain is temporary, but GPA is forever.” FAKE NEWS ALERT! I have never heard a bigger lie. GPA doesn't define you, a number doesn't represent your self worth and intelligence. Guess what? GPA isn’t forever! I can barely even remember my GPA from first semester. If you got off to a rough start, as most freshmen do, that is totally okay! Failing a course your first year is not uncommon. You are adapting! Freshman year of college is a big step in your life, things happen, you can't always be perfect and that is okay. College is also college. It isn't called high school for a reason. You can study for weeks and still get a 50 on a test. As long as you know you tried your best it'll be okay. Talk to the teacher about it, you might not be able to change your grade for the class, but at least you know how to improve in the future. I’m going to get real with you guys: your GPA might drop your first year and there is a chance it won’t be as high as it was in high school, but don't freak out. Your life isn't over. The best part is you have 3 more years to fix it and a whole college that wants to help you succeed.

3. 3. TAKE CLASSES YOU HAVE INTERESTS IN.  It's okay to change your major, take your time exploring classes so you can find your passion. Your classes will be so much more fun and interesting if you have a genuine appreciation of the subject. You don't NEED to do Pre-Med just because of the title, there are other ways to earn a living. You are still young, you have time. My father wanted me to be a doctor since I was a toddler so I began my first semester on the Pre-Med track to please him. Worst and best decision I've ever made. I absolutely HATED my classes so I stopped going to class because it actually pained me to attend. When I did go I would take extra long bathroom breaks and lap around the building a few times before I returned. I also avoided the homework at all costs by  procrastinating until the very last minute. The hatred I had for these classes began to affect my mental health and motivation. I gave up and really had no idea how i was going to get through 4 years of college if I was going to have to take classes like this each semester. But then I had an epiphany, decided to try some new classes second semester,  and surprise surprise I found my passion in Psychology and Economics! I love going to class now, studying isn't a big deal to me, and I genuinely enjoy the lectures (excluding the few boring, but necessary lectures.) I found a professor- mentor who is guiding me and I can actually see myself having a future within these subjects. College offers so many classes that it isn't worth doing something you don't enjoy just to make others happy. Remember you are spending 4 years of your life studying this stuff and it's only going to get harder so it really really (I’m stressing really!) helps if you like it.

4. PRIORITIZE SLEEP AND HEALTHY EATING! That party might seem like the move and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is a thing, trust me I know,  but there comes a point where you are so exhausted that you can’t have fun. I have honestly had times where I tried to rally but I was so exhausted that I ended up standing against a wall for about 15 minutes, trying to keep my eyes open, and ended up just taking an Uber back to my dorm. I then finished the night watching Netflix, ordering in food, and sleeping. An important reminder is, you guys aren’t going to like this but, you are here for the academics, not the social scene. On a real note, you don’t want to slack off to the point of getting your scholarship taken away because that is never great.  Moving onto the sleeping portion: we are growing up, not old (thank God), but up. Our bodies can take slightly longer to bounce back, especially because of the stress and lack of sleep. Eating healthy (avoiding pizza and fried foods for every meal) will help you avoid the common colds that go around.  Sleep and healthy eating also really energize your body,  prevent afternoon crashes, and provide you with health benefits! I’m not your doctor so I can’t force this upon you guys, but in my experience it really is helpful.  College is full of a lot of teenagers, from all over the world, on one campus so yeah there are germs (I know, gross, right?)  Sleeping and attempted clean eating will help you avoid getting as sick and even better you will also breakout so much less! This will also save you money because no need to use concealer when your skin is popping (if you’re into makeup and that stuff.)

5. THURSDAYS AND FRIDAYS ARE NOT JUST FOR PARTIES! Thursday and Friday afternoons are prime times for tedious chores; for example, homework, laundry, and cleaning your room. Yeah, I know what you guys are probably thinking, “This is college, I finally escaped my parents making me do chores. Why would I want to do them on the weekend?!” The answer is: I can promise you that all you are going to want to do over the weekend is sleep, preferably not buried in your own filth and dirty clothes. It is also nice to wake without the stress of knowing you have a ton of homework due on Monday and you haven’t started any of it. I can’t stress how important it is to do laundry on a Thursday or Friday.  Everyone else will be sleeping or getting ready for the night so this is your time to take advantage of an empty laundry room. It won’t take that long to do your laundry, I promise. If you are really tired, throw it in the wash, set an alarm, take a nap, then go back to put it in the dryer, and set another alarm to go grab it. Doing laundry before everyone else isn’t just better because you don’t have to wait for washing machines and dryers to open up, but nobody will take your clothes out and throw them on the ground (yes, that does really happen). My main point here is take advantage of your time and the weekend will be so much less stressful!

 

6. LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, FIND YOUR LIFELONG FRIENDS!  This isn't high school so you don’t have to hang out with people you don't vibe with. College is big enough that you can bounce around until you find your people. You can do this through clubs, organizations, and events your college hosts. Don’t be afraid to reach out to someone sitting alone in the cafeteria or library  (unless they look like they’re studying intensely because they probably don’t want to be interrupted).  Your close friends won’t be the first people you meet, and you don’t have to be best friends with your roommate if you don’t want to. I got lucky and my roommate isn’t my best friend, she is my other half, but it definitely took us until halfway through second semester to find our people. College puts you and your friends through so many scenarios, whether it is the stress of finals or just a random emotional moment, you will find out who your real friends are. Find people who you can be yourself with and people who accept you at both your best and worse. Reading over that, it sounds really cliche, but sometimes the best friendships can be cliche, but who cares as long as you're happy?!  When you find your real friends it is like a scene in the movies, glitter is falling in the air, everyone’s hair looks great, and the wind is blowing in slow mo. You guys look at each other and bang! You are now best friends.  I’m kidding I wish it was that simple and glamorous. However, after all the ups and downs you have been through finding your people,  you can finally experience everything the world has to offer with your best friends because they really are your friends for life.

-Ty (@tywhye)

Tyra is a rising sophomore Economics major and Psychology minor from Atlanta, GA. You can contact her on any of the social media sites above (in the caption below her picture). You can also email nerdynaturals@gmail.com if you have any questions or are interested in contributing.