Tarleton State freshmen tell the highs and lows from the first month of college

BY KEELI CHRESTMAN 

Multimedia Journalist 

A student’s first year of college comes with many changes. The first few weeks at Tarleton State University, or any university, are busy. Campus is filled with new faces, new routines and many freshmen are trying to navigate their new life. 

College is an exciting time when you get to meet new people and start to figure out how to be more independent. It isn’t always easy though. From making new friends to getting into a new routine, freshmen are thrown into a world of all kinds of new.

For freshman Julissa Gonzalez, one of the best parts of college has been finding people that she has connected with. “I found my people,” she said. 

College gives students the opportunity to meet many different people, which helps build friendships outside of the ones from home. For many freshmen, these friendships help them adjust to college life and become a second family to them. 

Freshman Rekkylah Bostick said spending time with friends has been a good part of her college experience.

 “I had a lot of fun at the Casey Donahew concert with my friends and boyfriend,” Bostick said. 

For students who are away from home for the first time, having campus activities like this one to go to with friends can help make a big college feel a little smaller. But sometimes it is hard being away from family. “Not being able to see my family every day has been hard,” freshman Elly Gamble said. 

Moving away from home to start a new chapter is one of the hardest parts of going to college. Students have to learn how to balance their school schedules and their personal lives without having their families to help them as they did before.

At the same time, college has given Gamble an opportunity to find her community and an environment that feels like home. 

“I found a church I really like,” Gamble said. 

For students, finding places like this that help them adjust to a new environment is important. Whether that is a church group, an organization or just a group of friends, having these connections makes campus feel more like home. 

One of the most common struggles for students on campus is trying to find parking. For freshmen still trying to learn their way around campus, finding a good place to park can add more stress to an already busy day. If students want to leave campus, there is a good chance the spot they vacate will be taken when they get back. 

Another struggle students have is trying to learn how to work with new professors. “My statistics professor moves on too fast,” Gonzalez said. 

College classes often move a lot faster than what freshmen are used to. Students are responsible for speaking up when they do not understand something, and if they don’t speak up, they have to find a way to keep up themselves. 

Even though students all have different experiences, they all learned that there are highs and lows in college. For these Tarleton freshmen, it’s not just about figuring everything out but also about making the best of the time they have here.