Once Upon a Time: True Stories of an Aspiring Writer

Childhood Writings: Entries of a New College Blogger

Here are a few samples from my first blogging venture. You can see the precursors to my college blog experience, and you can also see how I liked to tell stories about my own life back then, too.

Entry 1: Lessons Learned from Freshman Year (Myths Debunked)

Hope you all had a good weekend! I spent it at Hershey Park, and even though it was cloudy, we had a blast. (Plus, very few crowds!) And, hello, lots of chocolate. I got several bars for free, and that doesn't include all that I got at the Chocolate World MEGA candy store. Now I'm about to start my summer online class, which doesn't look too awful.

Anyway.

Several months ago I drafted a very long post about college truths that ya'll should know, should you be going into college in the near future. Then, my computer lost it, as it does for quite a bit of my files! So, I have put together one in myth-or-fact style. This is Part 1, all about the "fun" side of school. So what surprised me the most? Take a look at my list...and pass this blog onto those who you think will benefit from it.

It's so easy to make friends at orientation. Nobody knows each other and they're all looking for friends!

False. Sadly. It was difficult to make friends at orientation. Many groups of people from high school stuck to each other like mod podge sticks to collages, and I even heard some people there comment on how difficult it was to make friends. In short, though, you will make friends, and the ones you do make at orientation might not be your permanent friends- I mean, how close can you get playing the Name Game over and over anyway? Honestly though, not everyone is so open, especially the high school groups who aren't interested in getting to know anyone else (this will probably change later).

I'm going to be honest here: if you're shy, you might have a tough time. Especially since everyone begins settling into groups sooner or later. I know, I know, it's not fair and you can't change your personality just to make friends. Just practice by going up to people and saying hello, maybe at summer orientation; you never know where it will take you. Talk to people on your school's Facebook page or say hi to your lab partner in class. Go to hall events. It'll work out in the end.

Orientation sucks.

Okay, this myth is true. Probably. No, it's not just information sessions. It's a long weekend where you'll have no free time, most likely. There are a lot of get-to-know-you games (ew), and at my school, library scavenger hunts (what am I, five?), salsa dancing (which was okay, but just another activity to take up every bit of our time), lectures about why it's bad to drink even though these never work on people, and working on a service project with your group. But after that, you begin school and you can forget all about it. And it's only 3-4 days!

Everyone talks about the party scene in college. That means it's going to be a big part of my experience, right?

I was shocked when I first arrived at the lack of partying. But yes, there are some, it's just not obvious and people don't always do it as much as you think. There are NO theme parties here (boo!) and most of the few parties that do happen are just people sitting around at someone's apartment and drinking. Yes, there are better things to do than this, guys! I've found entertainment in school-sponsored activities such as comedians, and even chilling with your friends in the dorm is fun and much more down-to-earth. In my dorm, Apples to Apples, baking treats, and dorm bonding stuff like Easter egg hunts have all been popular activities.

If you didn't smoke before, you will.

Really false! I saw this one going around in a popular Pinterest image and felt it needed to be debunked right away. To make a long story short, it's just not true. Times have changed and it's not the "cool" thing to do anymore. In fact, smokers will probably get on your nerves more than once for doing it where they're not supposed to (such as at the entrance to the dorm). Same thing for drinking, if you stick to your morals. You certainly don't have to. You've heard it many times but it's true: people REALLY don't care if you drink or not.