My Freshman Year at BYU
- Alena Black
- May 2, 2019
- 6 min read
Sorry it's been a month since I have posted. Things got kind of crazy in April with midterms, finals, a new job, and saying goodbye to friends, but I finally finished my freshman year at BYU! I have started spring term here and it is off to a good start. Since decision day was on May 1st, I saw a lot of my senior friends in high school post where they are going to college, I decided wanted to talk about my highs and lows of my freshman year and some advice I would have for people going into their first year of college. If I don't cover a topic you are curious about, don't be afraid to email me at blackal.blog@gmail.com or comment on this post.
Highlights:
1. Surrounded by best friends
Easily one of the best things anyone will tell you about your college experience will be the friendships and relationships that come out of it. In high school, I never had many friends, let alone a "group". I would always feel like a side-thought when it came to doing things. In college, I found a group of people that make me feel loved and needed. Not only do we talk everyday, but we also live so close to each other that we are able to spend time together all the time.
College is the only time that most people will be ever able to spend this much time with their friends. Take advantage of it. My friends are the most important thing to me other than my family, and there is almost nothing I wouldn't do for them. I know that I will always keep in contact with these friends because they have changed my life for the better.
2. Free Time (Use it wisely)
Since college classes are somewhat more tailored to a schedule you create yourself, you can have a lot of free time. Some of my friends purposefully did not take classes on Friday so that they could go skiing every Friday. I decided to have most of my classes on a TTH schedule and a lighter load on MWF. This may not work out for everyone, but either way, most college students have a lot more free time than they had in high school. The way I spent my free time was with my friends. We planned small trips around Utah, and we also planned photoshoots, shopping trips, special dinners, parties, and dates during this free time. Needless to say, it was a blast. But keep in mind what you need to get done and make sure you have enough time to do it. A lot of my friends ended up going to sleep at 3 am a lot because they hadn't made time for school work.
3. Opportunities
College has also presented me with a ton of opportunities to increase my education through clubs and events. I joined a lot of clubs this year just to try them out and see which ones I liked. Freshman fees are waived for clubs so it was easy to try a lot out. I was in marketing association, pre-business student association, women in business, student alumni, SHRM, and BYUSA. These were all to help me focus on my major, but there were plenty of super fun clubs around campus too like a ping pong club, smash club, and plenty of acapella groups to join. These clubs allowed me to volunteer around campus, get to know other people, and learn new skills. One of my favorite experiences was with BYU Student Alumni. I was on the communications team for the campus-wide food drive and was able to plan a photoshoot for our advertisements and learn a little more about communications.
Lows:
1. Slow making friends
Despite my friends being one of my biggest highs of my year, it was also a low. It took me a long time to make any friends. I felt like I mainly only had acquaintances. I cried in my car twice in October because I felt so lonely. But don't worry, friends will come with time. I did not have my solid group of friends until my second semester. *Insert True Friend by Hannah Montana here* Just be patient and keep talking to people and you will find friends that you click with.
2. Lower GPA
Everyone will tell you that college is different from high school. Getting an A is actually a lot harder now. You can't just breeze your way through a test or essay. You need to quickly retain information but also accept a bad grade sometimes. My high school experience was quite easy. I had high grades and considered myself very smart. Here, not so much. I don't consider myself to be dumb by any means, but I definitely had to reevaluate the way I studied for school. I had a lot of trouble my first semester because I was not studying effectively and I did not know how to get help. I did not do horrible, but I was not doing as good as I had done in high school or as well as I had hoped. College is hard. I had to accept the bad grade and move on and do better. Learn what your best techniques for learning are.
3. Goodbyes
Since you make some of your best friends during the semester, it is extremely hard to say goodbye to them. I am currently taking spring term at BYU, but a good 99% of my friends have gone home for spring and summer for four months. Saying goodbye to them was so hard. But as my best friend said, "it's just a 'see you later' for a little bit". Cheesy, but it's true and it provides you time to make new friends. I will update you on how this goes for me cause as of right now, I still really miss my friends.
Advice:
1. Get to know your hall
One way that I found my best friends was getting to know the girls in my hall and the people in my ward. My first semester, I often stayed in my room. To study, to sleep, and to just relax. DO NOT DO THIS. Second semester, I decided to get out of my room and study in my hall's lounge. Other girls would come in and we would take studying breaks and just have conversations. We would call this the "3 am Club" because we would stay up so late. (I usually went to bed at 1 am. Don't worry mom.) We would have the most random conversations about guys, teachers, anatomy, etc. I bonded so much with these girls and they became my best friends.
Because of how my campus housing was set up, how I got to know guys was because of my ward. I basically annoyed my best friend into becoming my friend. But it worked out very well for us, so do with that what you will. I was able to meet and talk to a lot of guys because of my ward that became really good friends of mine. I'm sure it's different for other colleges though.
2. Go to events and actually get involved
This goes back to the whole clubs and opportunities thing. I know a lot of people who hardly got involved with the campus and really regretted it. Even if I didn't go to every event, I kept my eyes open for events on campus. I went to dance performances, festivals, a luau, and even karaoke! Most of them are free or really cheap, and provide either an awesome date night, or just a fun time with friends. Get involved on campus and show your love for your university. Also it should be given but, go to sports games. Even if your teams aren't great or if you though high school sports were lame. College sports are actually the best. The amount of school spirit is insane. As a former cheerleader, it is greatly appreciated.
3. Everything will turn out as it is supposed to
The biggest piece of advice I can put out is that everything will turn out as it is supposed to. It is super hard to keep an eternal perspective. But the reality is that a small grade will not determine your worth, a rejection will not make you alone forever, and an awkward conversation doesn't necessarily mean they'll never talk to you again. Trust me. I would and do know. At one point in the year, I was at such a low point that I forgot why I wanted to even go to BYU. But one of my teachers reminded me that my senior year when I saw my acceptance letter, I WANTED to be here. I knew challenges were ahead, but I wanted to go to this school. So even though rough times come with college, remember that you wanted, and maybe even dreamed, of going to the school that you go to, and you are lucky to be there.
Life in college is about going for a ride. Work hard, stay focused, but also take time for yourself and your social life. It is a lot to process and have on your mind, but it is the best time to learn about who you are and who you want to be. It really is the hardest but best time of your life and I can say that with only two semesters under my belt.
Let me know if you have any questions about my freshman experience. I would love to answer them. Email me at blackal.blog@gmail.com, comment on this post, or DM me on Instagram @black_alena1096
XO
Alena
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