Life is a Series of Freshman Year Experiences

Life is a series of Freshman Year Experiences….As classes begin today for UT, my thoughts are with friends both in my higher ed family and those with children in college.

The first day of classes always reminds of wisdom Stacey Yount taught me when I was a freshman at UT. She probably has no idea what an impact it had or how many times through the years I have shared some version of this, but she will now. I remember many things about the fall of my Freshman year, moving into the Residence Halls, joining a sorority, meeting new people, finding my way around campus, etc… But one of the best pieces of advice came from one of the coolest people I met that fall, Stacey Yount. She was the suitemate of some of my closest friends, Shannon Harrington and Rebecca Klindt Shepherd and a year ahead of us in school. She is probably one of the reasons we all became Sigma Kappas.

Just before the start of school, she told us a few words of wisdom… Don’t look like a freshman. There are several dead giveaways to being a freshman… 1) never carry your backpack on 2 shoulders and proudly wear your letters on it; 2) don’t carry every book you own to class a simple notebook will usually do, but nothing with anything cutesy on the cover or that might resemble a Trapper Keeper; 3) Most of the freshmen on this side of campus will eat in Presidential, but the better food and the cuter boys are in Morrill. Sounded simple.

So, I tried to be as un-freshman-like as I possibly could. I had my backpack only on one shoulder, proudly wore my letters and only packed essential things in it and headed to Morrill to eat. I remember finding a table near a group of cute upperclassmen and smiling at one of them as I was starting to carefully place my tray of “good food” down on the table. Just then my one shouldered backstrap slid down into the crook of my arm and my entire tray flew across Morrill Cafeteria. I.was. mortified. I heard one of the cute upperclassmen laugh and say to his friends under his breath… “Freshman.”

All of that to simply say, sometimes we cannot help but be a freshman. Everything is new. You don’t know all you knew before, but give yourself a chance to get adjusted, ask questions, and remember it will get better.

But life presents us with many freshman year experiences ( education, new jobs, marriage, parenting, moving to new places, etc…) and while we still have to live them out we learn that they don’t last forever and we will learn how to handle each new experience and gain comfort once again.

Enjoy each freshman year life presents to you.