What they should have told you

My freshman year of college was one of my most memorable and my floormates on Delgado 300 probably have the pictures to prove it. But it was also anxiety-ridden. \nI unpacked my bags and set up my room unaware of where IU would take me. Now, as I start my senior year at IU, I can't help but look back on the embarrassing moments that plagued my first couple of months on this campus. The way I see it: college isn't college unless you make a fool of yourself at least a couple of times. \nStill, there are some things I wish someone pulled me aside and said before I started at IU. For instance:\n1. No matter what anyone tells you, you cannot make it to a Yoga class in Briscoe in 15 minutes if your last class is in Swain West! No matter how fast you walk or how many of the ridiculous bus routes you try to take, it won't work. \n2. Embrace falling on ice in the winter. Make that falling in general. There are just going to be times when you walk through this beautiful campus when you're just going to bite it. Likely, the hot guy from class or someone you are trying to avoid will be there to witness it. Minimize your chances by going around the arboretum in the winter (and as I learned from my now-roommate: don't hop fences to get to class on time, you'll only end up late to class covered in mud looking like a moron).\n3. There is so much more to Bloomington than the campus and the bars. Seriously. Maybe its just because I'm a girl who grew up in Queens and there aren't too many cool nature places around, but Bloomington is a gold mine. Explore the quarries, the fire tower, Lake Monroe, Griffy Lake and anywhere else obscure. \n4. You will want to move as far away from campus as possible after living in the dorms. I'll leave the decision up to you, but remember, even though there may be a bus to get you to campus, it can and likely will take an hour to get there.\n5. Everyone you think you won't see or are trying to avoid, you will see. And likely, they'll be your lab partner. \n6. Some teachers will be fantastic. Others are just going to suck. And some, you won't even understand a word that comes out of their mouths. Learn to scout your professors. Talk to as many people as possible and find out who the good teachers are. That doesn't mean the ones who only give out As. (Although really, who would argue with that?)\n7. Your syllabus is real, and it's not going to change. Sometimes, your professor won't even talk about the syllabus after it's given out on the first day. So dig the crumpled piece of blue paper out of your bookbag and post it up somewhere. When October 10 rolls around, you might be surprised to walk into your history class and see everyone has a 10-page paper to hand in and you've got squat. \n8. You are going to get annoyed with long-term papers, science labs and staying in the library all night studying. You'll likely drink a lot, look like an idiot, make friends for life, fight with friends and move four times even though you swore you weren't going to again. Photograph it all.\nI remember as I left New York and said goodbye to my friends all of the adults told me to enjoy my time in college, that there was nothing like it and it will go faster than I could imagine. \nLike you are doing to me right now, I shrugged them off. But they were right, it does go by fast, so enjoy it while you can.