7 Mistakes I Made My First Year of College

There are so many things I’m glad I did during my first year of college. In the end, it was a pretty memorable year, with ups and downs I never would’ve expected. However, I definitely made mistakes. Things I wish I could go back and tell myself to do differently, that could have perhaps lead to more and different experiences. As a college freshman, mistakes are probably inevitable – but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from mine!

What are the seven mistakes I made my first year of college?

1. I didn’t reach out to people I wanted to.
2. I signed up for a couple of clubs, but they didn’t work with my schedule.
3. I didn’t take all of the photos I wanted to.
4. I ate in my dorm for most meals.
5. I didn’t take advantage of the meal plan first semester.
6. I wasn’t assertive and didn’t always stand up for myself.
7. I didn’t take my student mentor up on her offers to take me to Starbucks and hang out.

What should I have done differently to avoid these mistakes? How can you try to avoid them?

Reached out to people I wanted to be friends with.

You know when you see someone and you think to yourself “Oh yeah that person, I want to be friends with them.” If you’re me before college, you’d walk up to them and introduce yourself and test the whole “I want to be friends with them” theory you’ve got going. However if you’re me in college? You ignore that thought for months. Maybe even the whole year. What the heck self?! I did eventually become friends with a couple of people I had this experience with, and couldn’t believe I’d never just said hello.

So this list starts off with one of my biggest regrets: not building certain friendships sooner. I know the opportunity was there. I just didn’t seize it. Don’t let this happen to you! Just talk to people and go for it! Especially in the start of the year when everyone is meeting people and open to hanging out with pretty much anyone. Cast your net wide, and see who sticks around and who you truly work well with. And while I’m on the subject of friends, you may not keep all of yours that you make right away – read more about unexpected things that might happen when you go to college by clicking here!

Found out when clubs met when I signed up for emails from them.

Holy cow guys. I signed up for a bunch of things I was vaguely interested in (which I highly recommend if you aren’t sure what clubs you want to join), and none of them fit with my schedule. That’s right. Not a single one. Like, how is that even possible??? So instead of seeking out other things to join, I just did nothing.

By nothing I don’t mean nothing, I still had classes and my health to take care of and that is a lot on its own. But I was a part of no clubs or teams or organizations, and I think this really hurt my chances of making more friends. Bottom line, you should figure out when clubs meet when at your activities or clubs fair at the start of the semester, so you’ll know ahead of time if you can make it this semester. And if you can’t find anything at first, keep searching, because it’s not likely that every group will be at that event and there may be a perfect group for you that fits your schedule that you didn’t even know about!

Taken more photos.

Now I know anyone who knows me is probably reading this and thinking ‘Peyton, all you did was take photos!’

Yes, that’s true. I wish I had taken more photos with my good camera. I love the dark and sometimes grainy selfies taken from nights spent talking until two am. Trust me, I do! But I really only did two photos shoots my first year.

The first when a friend came to visit me. She took photos I used for my Linked In, Instagram, and blog. Some even turned out so well I sent them to family members!

The second was an end of year shoot I did with my friends (or as they may refer to themselves, “friend squad”) the day I moved out. We got some great shots, one is even the background on my computer! But I wish I had more high quality photos with them from other times throughout the year. Especially since one of them is transferring!

I did take pictures here and there, but not as often as I wish I had. Next year, I’ll be making sure to use my DSLR more. After all, if I’m going to bother to bring it all the way to college with me, I better make the most of it!

Not eaten in my dorm every night for dinner first semester.

Oh my goodness if I could go back in time, I would tell myself that I cannot spend every evening doing homework in my room while I ate a dinner that I got to go from the dining hall. Some of my best memories from my second semester were eating dinner with my friends – which we did every night. Maybe I would’ve met them sooner if I had actually gone to dinner and not just gotten it to go!

So if you’re reading this, I’m not saying you need to eat in the dining hall every night. Sometimes you really do need to work through dinner and have to grab food to go so that you can keep the momentum going. But go to dinner if you’re feeling up to it. Say hi to people in line, ask them what they’re getting if you can’t decide, and don’t be afraid to sit by yourself. I loved eating my lunches by myself listening to podcasts or just people watching. Doing things on your own isn’t always that scary, I promise.

Taken advantage of my meal plan first semester.

On a similar note, I totally did not take advantage of the meal plan my first semester, and I was so annoyed with myself by the time I realized what I had done! In most places your meal plan is already paid for when you start the semester. By making myself meals on the weekends and not going to the dining hall all the time when I was physically able, but instead opting to whip up a quick peanut butter sandwich or something of the like, I was wasting money. Meal swipes don’t roll over from semester to semester at my university, and at the end of the semester I had way more left over than I’d care to admit.

Spring semester I got a smaller meal plan, and kept up with checking online to see how many meals I had left so I didn’t suddenly have a huge surplus. Even if you can’t each as much as you thought you could when you signed up for your meal plan in the fall, invite friends to visit and use your meals on them, buy stuff for friends who commute, and you’ll start to see yourself find ways to spend those extra meals you didn’t realize you had. And at the end of the day? It is always better to have a couple of meals leftover than it is to come up short and not have anything to eat during finals!

Been more assertive and stood up for myself!

I had what we’re going to refer to as a complicated relationship with my suite mates. At the end of the day, I regret not being more assertive when dealing with them. I know I didn’t always come off as that confident when confronting them, and had I been, things might have been a bit better for me. Thankfully, I never have to deal with that situation again.

This past year I’ve had to stand up for myself a lot. To get the accommodations I need, the medical care I need, in dealing with my suite mates… and then there’s dealing with people when it comes to my service dog. Not trying to pet a dog covered in patches that say DO NOT PET should not be difficult, but it seems to be for a lot of people. And then there’s always fighting for public access when someone tries to deny my rights to my medical equipment. I know the Americans with Disabilities Act like the back of my hand, but I swear sometimes it’s like I’m the only one.

So I do a lot of standing up for myself. But it gets to be tiring, and there are a number of things I let go where I wish I had stood up for myself.

For example:

I wish I would have said something to the girls who refer to me as “that poodle b*tch” and yes, there are people who really do that. When you get to higher education, not everyone is nice! Which is quite unfortunate really, the world would be so much better if people could be nice to one another.

Part of why I never confronted these people is that it didn’t seem worth it, and it always occurred in a public setting where there were tons of other students. I’d hear it as I’d walk past larger groups of people so I was never completely certain who it was, but it’s definitely a few girls, and I’m definitely tired of it. It’s just uncalled for.

I know very few college students have service dogs, but the bottom line is that if you’re being messed around or taken advantage of, don’t be afraid of standing up for yourself or making a fuss if need be. When I stood up for myself my life was made so much easier. And I hope that holds true for you too.

Hang out with my student mentor and give her a chance.

I had a bit of a rough start to my relationship with my student mentor due to some misunderstandings in regards to my illnesses and accommodations, and while I always thought she was a pretty sweet person, I wasn’t her biggest fan and didn’t really give her a chance because of it. Eventually, when she kept asking, I gave in and went to Starbucks with her on a snow day, late in the spring semester. I had a great time, and wish I had taken advantage of the quality conversation and advice (and free Starbucks) way sooner.

If you have a student mentor, peer mentor, RA, or anyone like that who wants to spend time with you and buy you food or coffee, take them up on it when your schedule allows. At the end of the day even if you decide you don’t want to do it again, it was still a learning experience. And you got free food out of it! It’s really not a bad thing to have a mentor.

And there you have it.

Seven mistakes I made my first year at college. Luckily, there’s something I can do to change most of these things, if I haven’t already! Catch me next semester with my camera in hand, meeting new people and going on adventures!