Freshman year of college can undoubtedly be one of the scariest, craziest, and most wonderful years of anyone’s life. No matter how much they may have hated it in the moment, any graduating senior would tell you how much they wish they were a freshman again. With that in mind, our freshmen reflected on their first year at Penn State and shared what they learned along the way.

Jess Cartwright

I’m going to be completely honest: I did not want to come to college. It wasn’t Penn State; it was me. I felt like I wasn’t ready to leave home and my first semester definitely reflected my hesitation to embrace this new life experience. My second semester, however, went very differently. I joined the incredible Delta Gamma sorority, was hired at the one and only Onward State, and really started to feel like I fit in at this huge school. Overall, I’m glad I worked through my homesickness because, if it hadn’t motivated me to join other organizations, I never would feel as connected to Penn State as I do now. The friends I’ve made and the experiences I’ve had definitely go down in the books as some of the best in my life. I can’t wait to see what the next three years have in store.

Claire Fountas

I think there was always this naive little part of me that thought college would be perfect. To me, Penn State could do no wrong. This wasn’t just the change I wanted but the change I needed. Little did I know freshman year would end up being the most difficult year of my entire life. It’s like one moment I’d be crying because my best friends told me the world’s most hilarious drunk story, and then two seconds later I’d be crying at 3 a.m. with John Mayer’s “Heartbreak Warfare” playing in the background because I’d forgotten that paper was due. But my only regrets? Not saving enough Snapchats, not blocking that one guy’s number faster, and not using the good shower more often. Oh, and taking almost the entire year to figure out there’s a thing at The Mix called a “student discount.” That too.

Tim Reams

It’s pretty easy to start something like this off with the standard clichés and one-liners describing how this year was challenging and how I ultimately had the time of my life, but I’ve got to say, none of those Hallmark classics describe my freshman year at all. Instead I learned what it means to be entirely independent. Once you’re here, there is this defined independence that often goes unspoken. It isn’t found in a laundry room, dining commons, or in the library at 3 a.m. This independence comes from the moments when you hardly even realize it’s there. You find it in the moments when your mind seems anywhere but present — when you’re walking to class, brushing your teeth, or mindlessly arranging meetings with clubs and advisors — and you finally realize how much everything falls on you. My whole life, I was surrounded by a support system of close and amazing teachers, peers, friends, teammates, and family members who I now realize I took for granted. Now, I’m learning to do most things on my own. That was the biggest adjustment for me. I was so used to walking to class, eating lunch, doing homework, going home, and doing all of the little things in the day with someone, whether it be a friend or a teammate. Being a nervous person who often questions himself, I wasn’t really sure if I was doing this “independent adult” thing right, but I’ve grown to have confidence in myself, trust myself, and fully rely on myself. I’ve learned a great deal academically and socially this year, but I’ve found I have learned the most from the little moments of independence I took for granted my entire life. I wouldn’t go back on any of the lessons I’ve learned because they’ve set me up to (hopefully) be successful for the next however many years here at Penn State.

Claire Going

As soon as the nerves of leaving home and moving to a huge university drifted away, Penn State started to feel like home, and I never thought I could love a place as much as I’ve grown to love Happy Valley. I can say with confidence that the friends I’ve made this year who helped me get through the rough times will be my friends throughout the rest of my years at Penn State and beyond, and I’m so sad to say goodbye to some of the best people I’ve met whose time here has come to an end. I have mixed feelings about finishing freshman year. I’m extremely nostalgic about the fun experiences I’ve had and that one of four amazing years is already behind me, but I’m even more excited to start a new chapter sophomore year and study abroad in the spring. Overall, it was probably the most eventful year of my life, full of memories I’ll keep for a lifetime.

Olivia DeBellis

Freshman year — or, more accurately, a significant blur of “What the hell am I doing?” — has approached its final days. Frankly, I hesitate to pinpoint where exactly my time went. However, the lessons I’ve learned as a freshman — to be studious yet involved, to be independent yet connected, to be self-assured yet humble — are lessons I will carry with me always. As I stood on the floor of my very first THON, One Republic seemed to speak to me directly as they sang, “I hope that you spend your days, but they all add up.” There were big moments, like my first football game, my first set of finals, my first spring break — but the true significance of my freshman year came in the much smaller, seemingly irrelevant fragments of my everyday life, arranged piece by piece, that allowed me to build a home away from home here in Happy Valley.

Steve Connelly