The Brutal Truth of Being A Freshman in College
A few things I have learned so far
By: Maddie Roth
The comedian John Mulaney once said, “College is just a game show called ‘Do My Friends Hate Me or Do I Just Need To Go To Sleep?’” When I first heard this joke, I didn’t understand it, but I laughed anyway. Now, after (somewhat) successfully navigating my first month of college, I understand what John Mulaney meant. Being a freshman in college is hard, and I mean HARD. From attempting to make friends to sobbing on the floor to eating cold ramen noodles at 3 a.m., college has significantly impacted my life. Here is to the brutal truth of being a freshman in college.
Ah, Welcome Week. An entire week dedicated to awkwardly introducing yourself to complete strangers and adjusting to an unfamiliar environment. After traveling 341 miles I thought I was ready to tackle the beast that is the Twin Cities. Boy, was I wrong. I barely knew anyone and making friends was more difficult than I expected. My roommate introduced me to an eager group of my peers and I immediately assumed that these were my people. I quickly realized that this was not the case. I found myself pretending to be someone I wasn’t just to fit in. My mental health rapidly declined; I stopped eating and sleeping. I pushed off all of my homework and fell behind, even though the semester had just started. I was not happy. Instead of focusing on school, I went out with my “friends'” and stayed out until two in the morning. This wasn’t me, and this was not who I wanted to be. Something had to change.
It took me about three weeks to figure it out. One of my friends stayed the night at my dorm and I finally opened up to them about my struggles. Until this point, I had trapped my emotions underneath my tongue and refused to tell anyone what I was going through. No one knew me here and I was scared I was going to push people away by opening up, but the most beautiful thing happened: my friend stayed. He listened to what I had to say and offered his best advice. He told me that almost every freshman felt the same way I was feeling. In the short time I had been at the U, I had never felt so alone. Talking to my friend made me realize that was so far from the truth.
Here is the harsh reality of being a freshman in college: college will not always be easy. College is hard. College will not always be hanging out with friends and ignoring every responsibility. There will be tears shed over failing your first exam. There will be immense anger over a dumb fight with your roommate. There will be moments when you think everyone is smarter than you and that you don’t belong. There will be moments when you will want to give up because college is not what everyone said it was going to be. But I promise you, it will all be worth it in the end, because college will bring out the best in you. College will introduce you to some of the best people in the world who will wipe away the tears and calm the tidal waves of hurt. You will pass the next exam and you will fall in love with all of the opportunities college has to offer you. That’s what happened to me, and I promise it will happen to you too. Good things take time. College takes time.
When I listen to John Mulaney’s joke about college now, it makes sense. The first Friday night here I was overwhelmed with the idea of college, but I realized I should probably just go to sleep. No, your friends don’t hate you. You just need to go to sleep.