8 Important Lessons on Wellness from My Freshman Year

1. You don’t have to (nay, you are not supposed to) wash your hair every day

(even when you work out) DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TIME AND SANITY THIS HAS SAVED ME?! It is a little weird getting used to at first, but you get over it, and your hair loves you for it.

2. Let things go. 

I’m stressed, you’re stressed, we are all stressed. Learn when to let things go. But, at the same time know your worth and don’t let people walk all over you.. you are a strong, independent person.

3. Say YES!

Some of the best experiences you will have are those that you do on a whim. Don’t be afraid to break away from your routine, or perfectly penciled out schedule. You have the rest of your life to work—enjoy these college experience while they last.

4. Don’t go HAM on the school “specialty” items.

Or in my case, the Cornell Dairy. You are in a whole new place, with a whole new atmosphere, a whole new crowd, a whole new everything—your body is in shock, take everything in stride for it to adjust. I, and a lot of people I know, develop food allergies their first year of school because of too much all at once. In my case, Cornell makes their own dairy (hi all you can eat ice cream) and because I wasn’t eating much dairy before coming here, the daily consumption was too much for my body and HELLO SEVERE LACTOSE-INTOLERANCE within 2 months. MODERATION!!!! 

5. Pre-enroll! 

It’s no joke. Figure out when that biz-nitch is. Be on your computer 3 minutes before you need to register for classes. Keep your hands free. And, click your little heart out. Take no prisoners.

Overheard 2 hours after 7am pre-enroll:

“How did pre-enroll go for you?”

Wide eyed and running to the nearest computer: “Pre-enroll?!”

DON’T LET THIS BE YOU ^^ I don’t even want to imagine what her schedule looks like.

6. You are either going to love, or hate your roommate.

There is not much of an in-between. If it’s love, YAY!! If it is hate, it is no big deal–all you have to do is sleep there, you will have tons of other places and people to hang out and have fun.

7. You do not need dessert every night.

Yes the freshman 15 is real. But from what I have seen it comes from 1) Alcohol and 2) Dining halls. Just because dining halls are all-you-can-eat, does not mean you have to eat more than you normally would. And, there WILL be dessert at every meal, treat yourself every once in a while, but if you were at home, would you be eating dessert all the time?!

8. Happiness is everywhere.

I currently have 2 roommates, and we are all COMPLETELY different people, but at the same time, we are all COMPLETELY happy. There is something for everyone and you will find it, just follow your heart and do what YOU want to do. If that isn’t partying, then DO NOT feel the need to do that. #YouMakeYou