What you wish you had known/done/brought as a freshman

[NerdGirl]

http://theboard.byu.edu/index.php?area=viewall&id=57827

I wish I had brought a can opener. And I went out and bought a can opener after a 3 am opening a soup can with a screwdriver incident.

[Unit of Energy]

I wish I'd known how different BYU classes were from the community college I went to in high school.
I wish I had hung out with people instead of embracing my new found personal computer.
I think that I did bring everything I needed, although my parents did declare that I would have to take every thing I owned with me.

[thebigcheese]

I wish I had brought a can opener. And I went out and bought a can opener after a 3 am opening a soup can with a screwdriver incident.

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person at BYU who actually owns a can opener. My neighbors borrow it all the time because nobody has can openers! Such a random thing...

Speaking from a post-graduation "what was I thinking when I picked my major" perspective, I wish I would have taken a wider variety of classes and discovered earlier that the business school isn't evil after all. I should have majored in marketing, dang it! And now I can't find a job that I actually like! Ugh. A lesson for everyone: think long-term.

I wish I would've known how to appropriately handle conflict with my roommates (no more of this passive-aggressive stuff!).
I wish I would've known about the $1 movie rentals in the basement of the Bookstore.
I wish I would've had more friends of the opposite sex. Instead, I learned about boys the hard way--one date at a time.
I wish I would've known that everyone brings everything to college with them. You really don't need four toasters, six mustards, and five irons in one apartment. It just takes up space.
I wish I would've been more social in most of my student wards. My happiest college years were the times when I was very active in my ward and when I was good friends with all of my roommates. That alone is probably the best advice I can give.

There's probably more, but that's a good start.

[TheAnswerIs42]

You know, oddly enough, I don't have any regrets about my freshman year. I LOVED my experience in DT, and the only friends I keep in touch with from BYU are from my ward/envelope/dorm floor. I didn't have a big isssue with "stuff" to bring. What you forget at first, you get at WalMart later.

I will say, though, that when I came I was fully focused on academics. It was all about grades and finishing the classes I needed as soon as possible. But now I know that most of my favorite classes - the ones that I still refer back to and use today - were ones not on my MAP. Just ones I took because I wanted to. College isn't the time to fly through and do the minimum. I was glad I eventually learned to slow down and take advantage of the only opportunity I will ever have to take random classes, meet random people, and find out who I really was.

[thebigcheese]

I was glad I eventually learned to slow down and take advantage of the only opportunity I will ever have to take random classes, meet random people, and find out who I really was.

Wonderful advice!

I'm so glad I took RMYL classes like mountain biking and rock climbing, and I wish I would've taken more of them. I also really enjoyed my swimming classes. So fun! But there was also a LONG list of random classes I wanted to take for my own skills/personal development. Food preparation, personal finance, marriage prep, family history, etc.

[vorpal blade]

I went through BYU in 5 years earning a master's degree in math. I then went on to the U. of Utah to get a Ph.D. in math. After a semester there I decided I didn't really want a degree in math. So I took some different classes, some of them just because I wanted to study from a particular professor. I'm glad I did that. I took a year of Quantum Chemistry for President Eyring's father, Henry Eyring. It's not something I would have normally done, but it was a great experience.

[Unit of Energy]

I wish I had known what I wanted to study my freshman year, but I'm so glad that I had a roundabout path to it.

[FauxRaiden]

A plunger.

That's all.

[bismark]

I would have spent more time playing DOTA/Halo and sitting out on DT field with girls watching movies. Nothing beats running to hide in the bushes while HCO thugs clear out the field and then going back to finish up the film.. I really have no idea how I survived on 4 hours of sleep a night but it was worth it.

[FauxRaiden]

I would have spent more time playing DOTA/Halo and sitting out on DT field with girls watching movies. Nothing beats running to hide in the bushes while HCO thugs clear out the field and then going back to finish up the film.. I really have no idea how I survived on 4 hours of sleep a night but it was worth it.

Also that.

I think I've since trained my body to live on 4 hours of sleep. Let me tell ya, that extra few hours in the day is so nice. Take a nap around 3 oclock and you're good to go until around 2 am.

[Carrapicho]

I wish I'd brought decorations. I went through serious withdrawals as a freshman right around October--my mom always went all out for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and especially Christmas, and it made me miss home so much. I finally went out and bought my own decorations (I still have them to this day, 10 years later). I probably could have brought some of my mom's instead of buying my own, because she always had more than enough. It sounds kinda frivolous, but it put me in better spirits and it's not something many people thought of.

I wish I had tried out for the choirs more than once. I tried the first semester of my freshman year, didn't make it, and then never tried again. I really regret that. I'd like to think I could have at least made Women's Chorus if I'd been persistent.

I also wish I hadn't worked as much. I had a job at a restaurant, and I missed out on a lot of activities because I worked virtually every Friday and Saturday night. I still had fun, but I think I would have had even more memories if I'd worked a different schedule.

Other than that, I loved my freshman year. It was awesome and really gave me the confidence to have a great college career.