1st year of college done (:

            My first year of college definitely had its ups and downs, but I can say it has been one interesting year of my life… So here is some stuff I learned the first year of college that will hopefully help me throughout the rest of my college year, and the freshman going in:

1     When you have to do laundry for the very first time without mom around, and you call her to ask if something can go together… she will start laughing get used to it.

2.      Mom will always be 1 phone call away, when you are having a bad day. Yes, you still have bad days in college and yes you will want your mom.

3.      You will get sick of the cafeteria food; you will savor the moments you go out to eat with friends but the moments you will most savor are when you go home and get “real” home cooked food.

4.      If you’re anything like me you will cry when you’re overwhelmed with school, work, and whatever else is going on with your roommates, family, or your relationship.

5.      Watch out for the fresh 15, or as we called it at SUU the t-bird twenty; the junk food will get to you eventually.

6.      So to keep of the fresh 15 off get a gym buddy and eat healthy. Trust me the gym time and gym buddy will be one of your favorite parts of the day if you have a gym buddy as awesome as mine. (:

7.      Going home to see your family and best friends from high school is the best feeling in the world; you’ll always go a little over the speed limit… to get home faster.

8.      Your roommate does not need to be your best friend either does your suitemates; but you do live with them. So be nice to each other, and have roommate dates they are a fun thing to look forward too.

9.      You and your roommate could be a lot alike, and have some weird obsession with music like you do. Trust me it makes for some pretty fun dance parties in your room.

10.  If you have a car and live close to campus, it is nice to offer to take people to Wal-Mart with you because honestly half the people you live with won’t have a car and will really appreciate it.

11.  You think a trip to Wal-Mart will be a 10 minute trip tops, usually you will be there for at least an hour. Enjoy it!

12.   If you live in a small town like I did my first year, there isn’t a whole lot to do, make your own fun. Taking trips to St. George for Cold Stone ice cream will always put a smile on your face.

13.  If you don’t absolutely love it, or need it don’t buy it…

14.  The people you live with will become like family, and I mean everyone you live with not just the people who are in your room.

15.  You will get annoyed with the people you live with, smile and walk away so you don’t say something you will regret later.

16.  It is possible you will fight with your roommate do the above statement or you will regret it later. I do know from personal experience. If you do fight with your roommate let it cool off before you talk again.

17.  Thing will happen that put you out of your comfort zone get over it fast. It will happen at least once a day.

18.  There are things that even mom and dad can’t fix learn to live with it, life is not perfect.

19.  Your big brothers will also only be a phone call away, I bet they appreciate talking to you as much as you do them.

20.  Don’t put anything in the community fridge without putting your name on it, it will be eaten or drank. The possibility that it will get eaten or drank is still there even if your name is on it.

21.  Better yet, have your own fridge. Your roommate will love you for it.

22.  Pushing your beds together to have a big bed is awesome, especially if your roommate doesn’t stay in your room that often.

23.  You will make new friends who help you out a lot throughout the semester, but your old friends are just as great. Keep all of your friends close, just stay away from people who try to hurt your feelings they are not worth your time.  

24.  Your boyfriend will still make you mad like he did in high school, but he will still take care of you when you are sick and make you laugh so hard you cry.

25.  Your RA may seem strict, but they really aren’t. Mine was always laughing and you could always figure out where she was just by her laugh.

26.  If you have a job like I did, you will try to do your homework at night when its slow, but just expect that at least 10 of your friends will come and sit down there for a while and you will not finish your homework.

27.  The library is great; you will do homework in there. Just stay away from the computers or bringing your laptop if you can so you won’t waste time on Facebook.

28.   Yes, Facebook is still a thing you waste time on… but in college its much worse when you Facebook stalk all your friends from high school. Everyone does it, trust me.

29.  You will take random trips whether it be home, Vegas, or St George.

30.   Do what you want, make all the memories you can. This is prime time of life.

31.  If you’re Mormon you will talk to some of your friends about how we are trouble on society because we aren’t married yet.

32.  A lot of your friends will start getting married; you will start to think some of your friends are crazy.

33.  Learn from your mistakes, and don’t regret your decisions. It was what you wanted at the time and it will only make you stronger.

34.   Going to bed early isn’t impossible… but it is highly unlikely.

35.  Sometimes you and your roommate will have a girls day, and eat ice cream and watch chick flicks. It’s always a good time.

36.  If you’re anything like me, everyone on your floor will call you Momma Shay (but your own name) and come to you with their problems and eat your chocolate. (:

37.  Boys will be your best friends, especially when they know everything about cars. Plus, they don’t like drama so they are much easier to talk too.

38.  It is possible to get a 4.0 you have to be determined, and reward yourself. But don’t stress yourself out to the point you call your mom crying if you don’t think you did well on a test. (Yes, I did do this a lot, and yes I do need to stop stressing out so much.)

39.  The boys across the hall from you first semester become your best friends, and you spend a majority of your time watching them play video games just so you can hang out with them.

40.   You’ll meet people from all over the place, and even live with some of them. The culture difference is really interesting. Some of my best friends now come from Vegas and we couldn’t be more different. (:

41.  You go as long as you can without doing laundry so you can try to take it home. Free laundry is the best, and so is good shower pressure.

42.  Your bed at home is your favorite thing ever, and your mom usually finds you asleep on it an hour after you get home.

43.  If you move far away from home it is scary, and a big change but don’t forget everyone around you is doing it too.

44.  Don’t expect to get something if you didn’t try for it, life doesn’t work like that.

45.  People will be straight up with you, get used to it.  Because I’ll bet your being pretty straight forward yourself.

46.  You will give up on trying to look cute, make up is the least of your worries.

47.  Reading a book for fun especially the hunger games this last semester was something you see a lot of people do. (:

48.  Free stuff makes every college student happy, because it is normally food or a t-shirt.

49.  You learn that some things just aren’t for you and some people will get mad at the choices you make.

50.  Learning that you’re an adult now, and sometimes it’s hard is frustrating but so worth the trip. So ENJOY IT!

These were just some of the things I learned at SUU my first year of college, I could probably go on and on but I won’t. The most important thing I learned is your family will always be there for you, but you have to do what is best for you. Even though SUU isn’t the place for me the people I met help influence all my choices, and helped me grow as a person. As did the friends and family I still had from home… So even though I can’t wait to start my new journey at the University of Utah, it’s now time for me to end the one at Southern Utah University.