Dear Freshmen,

If you’re reading this, then congratulations, you have officially (almost) made it through your first semester here at Central Connecticut. Though finals may not begin until next week, the hardest part is now over.

Between back-to-back classes, all-nighters and weekend parties, I hope you truly believe your first taste of college was a good one. If you’re shaking your head no to this, don’t worry, you still have time—seven semesters of time, in fact.

If you’ve found yourself struggling on whether or not to even continue your time here, that’s okay. If you’ve found yourself struggling to stay afloat in all of your classes and/or extracurricular activities, that’s okay, too. You’re allowed to have doubts and you’re allowed to be confused. However, know that whatever you’re feeling right now, you will get through. Now a junior, I wish someone had told me that my freshmen year.

Though some people may not see it this way, college is hard. In fact, it’s way harder than I ever thought it would be. Still, I have spent (almost) five semesters here and wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I have found myself joining clubs, taking classes that feed my interests and making more friends than I ever thought possible within such a short span of time.

And even with classes now in the past and finals approaching at full speed, you still may be feeling confused, lost or even hopeless in this exact moment. If you do, that’s okay. I have learned throughout my time here that things often have a way of working themselves out.

In my experience, the first semester of freshmen year is always the hardest. High school is difficult because you’re taking on a new school; college is even more difficult because you’re taking on a new world. In some ways, it feels like you’ve been blindfolded and thrown into waters without knowing how to swim.

Because of this, you may be wondering if your college career is a journey you want to continue. If you are physically and mentally able to continue at least one more semester, I urge you to do so.

From this point on, you’ll begin to take classes that pertain more to your interest (if you’re not sure what your interests are, that’s okay—there are plenty of courses available to try out), you’ll begin to find your group of friends and hopefully join a few clubs in the process. My experience here has led me to believe that the more semesters you spend here, the better things become.

Sooner than you think, you’ll no longer be a little fish in a big pond. You’ll get a better feel for what you like and what you don’t, as well as the course load that you can handle. And though you may not believe me, you will begin to find it yourself. It may take some time, but you’ll get there.