Written by Jordan Barela, Editor-in-Chief 

First off, welcome to Valdosta State University!

You are about to begin your freshman year. The stereotype of what a freshman is, to put it simply, is outdated. A freshman is typically a fresh out of high school student, away from his or her parent(s) for the first time. With a taste of absolute freedom, a common thought of freshmen is that they often party excessively, gain 15 pounds from all the alcohol and junk food and barely make it to class. While there may be some truth to this, not all freshmen are like that.  In fact, a freshman is not necessarily fresh out of high school anymore.

Now a freshman can be a single mother who finally got the chance to attend to school. A freshman can be a veteran who enlisted right after high school. A freshman now can be an older person who decided to start over and attend college.  Essentially, a freshman is anyone who is starting college for the first time. Period.

Now that you are here at VSU the first thing to know about being a freshman is to enjoy being a freshman. Enjoy being young (or older) and in college. Enjoy the experience. College is the place to learn and plan for the future, but to also learn who you are as a person. Yes, you are going to make mistakes. But college is the place to learn from those mistakes.

Join a club and meet new people. Step out of your comfort zone. Strike up a conversation with the person behind in line at Starbucks or Chick-Fil-A. Take out your headphones and sit and listen to your fellow students walking through the Pedestrian Mall. Get to know your campus, so go out and explore. The list goes on and on.

While it is not a crime to have fun in college, as a freshman, you need to learn how to balance the fun with the academia. It is easy to skip a class here and there, turn in a late assignment or just completely blow off an assignment, but don’t forget one crucial thing: College is not free and a lot of students pay for college out of their own pocket. You are paying to get an education, so don’t let it go to waste.

Give yourself a pat on the back for making it to college. You are here. Now, go out and accomplish great things and look forward to your upcoming years.