Beautiful friends of the earth, HELLO!
I’m done with my first semester of college and my mind is blown. I am typing up this post from my cozy home in New York, and I could not be happier to be on winter break for a month(!) spending time with family and friends. I am, however, going to dearly miss my friends from BU!
Finals are over, and I have concluded three things: I still despise statistics, I love psychology, and a good breakfast that involves peanut butter and banana makes any morning of a final exam better.
Post-chemistry-final distress selfie
Mom picked up brother Ben and me from Boston yesterday, and I’m happy to report that our drive home was much swifter than our drive back home for Thanksgiving break. I drove most of the way home, and we were cruisin’ right along. Thank God!
My last Boston meal for the semester was grilled lemongrass chicken with rice and veggies from a delicious Vietnamese takeout place. Hit the spot.
The Great and Small Things I Learned This Semester
Needless to say, college teaches you things. Of course you obtain your book smarts and knowledge of this awesome universe in which we live, but some of the most valuable things are learned by just living life away from home and getting out of that sweet comfort zone. So without further ado, here are some of the great and small things I’m taking away from my first semester at Boston University!
(P.S. I’m typing this list while listening to OneRepublic’s song, I Lived. It’s awesome inspiration music.)
- Holding doors for other people and having the door held for you is an easy way to make you smile.
- It’s not the end of the world if you don’t have plans on a Friday or Saturday night. In fact, it’s often preferable.
- The fruit crisps are the best desserts in the dining halls (a la mode, of course).
- The communal bathrooms will get gross, but you live through it.
- I still don’t know the names of all the guys on my floor (is that a good thing?).
- I have the best roommate!
- Dorm workouts can make you as sweaty as a gym workout.
- But nothing beats an outdoor workout by the river.
- And running is oooooookayyyy…I guess. 😉
- 10 AM classes are ideal. Not too early, not too late.
- Always snag bananas from the dining hall. You can never have too many bananas.
- “Room keys, ID card, room keys, ID card, room keys, ID card, PHONE!” <— an important thing that needs to run through my mind whenever I leave the room.
- It is possible to make best friends in just three months.
- I’m the “mom” of the group.
- Hugging gets you through the day/week/life.
- Statistics is poopy.
- So many of my problems in the past were a result of a negative outlook and a “woe is me” attitude. Mentality is incredibly powerful.
- You will observe weird people, and you will also be the observed weird person.
- I am a messy, klutzy person. Exhibit A // Exhibit B.
- Pedestrians RULE Boston. Sorry, drivers.
- The dorm walls are thinner than you think. Beware.
- How to cook steak…sort of.
- You will probably eat more sugar than you should, but life goes on and things will balance.
- There will always be cookies. Everywhere.
- Lunch and dinner dates are a thing and I kind of love them.
- You will end up wasting more time than you wanted, but if you have the drive, you will find the time to get work done.
- Sleep is uhhhhhmaaaazinggggg.
- You walk so much in college. To go to class, to go to the gym, to get to a study place, to get your food…
- The funk in my dorm hallway slowly but surely gets worse every day (it’s honestly only the boys’ side). It was getting to near toxic levels when I left.
- Selfies are a way of life (see huge collage under #13).
- My blogger friends and readers are so wonderful and supportive.
- Speaking of wonderful…It’s good to say words such as wonderful, beautiful, and awesome to people, especially when you genuinely mean it.
- Humans are resilient like WHOA. We go through a lot.
- This semester has been one of the happiest times in my life.
- My faith has grown more this semester than it has in my entire life.
There are at least fifty other things I learned in addition to these, and I’ll probably think of them as soon as I hit publish, but here’s what I have for now!
It’s been so fun. There’s literally nothing I can say or do except to thank God for His abundant blessings. I pray that I can be fruitful with His gifts by spreading joy and service to others.
To whom much is given, much will be expected.
Have a fabulous day, friends! Good luck to all those finishing finals and traveling home! ♥
Thinking out loud with my favorite!
So tell me:
Three things you’ve learned in the past 3 months/6 months/year!
When was the last time you experienced profound mental, emotional, or spiritual growth?
What are you doing today?!
I’ll be baking, visiting my high school, and hopefully meeting up with some friends!
Daily Moves and Grooves 
So gosh darn proud of you!! And seeing as you’ve learned all of this in just a few short months, you’re going to conquer it all by the time you graduate🙌
I pray the next months bring even more strength and love and fun and cookies…but no more statistics🙈😉
Have a great one Alison
Ahhh dear Katie! Thank you so much for your continuous love and support. I seriously can’t wait for the day I meet you in person. Wishing you a great Christmas break as well! ♥
yes! it will happen!! 🙂
I’m glad you’re having such an amazing time in college! Even commuting to college has taught me a lot. I’m a lot more confident this year in my social life and education! And I totally envy the beaaauuttiful scenery you have there…I would love to go for a run down that street!! Also, sleep it the bomb diggity.
Love ya!
Hooray!! Soooo happy to hear that, Jess. You’re working so darn hard and I am in awe of you.
This made me so nostalgic for my own college days! I can practically smell our dining hall and hear the commotion in my dorm hallway…ahh…memories!
#2 especially. I remember Friday nights when I would just stay in our dorm room lounge and binge-watch Law and Order. I felt weird cause I was the only one not out partying. I was actually afraid someone would come in the lounge and see me and officially verify my loser status. But, I stopped caring. If I wanted to go out, I sure could have – but I was happier being a “loser”! 🙂
Oh, girl. I know a lot of people who would envy your Law and Order binge nights! That sounds awesome 🙂
Wow. Wonderful words! I think that about sums up my time in college, especially about statistics being poopy. But I loved psychology as well! I think every day I go through a little bit of growth, and I sort of love it like that. Life is always changing, and that is TOTALLY fine by me. I wish I would have done a post like this after I finished my degree. =) Three things I’ve learned: things will happen when they are suppose to in your life, being vocal about your dreams makes them happen, and that having a close support system will get you through anything and everything.
Those are three great lessons, Kelsey! Indeed, “the only thing that is constant is change.” 🙂
Love finding other college girls’ blogs to read! I agree with all of these and love “you can never have too many bananas!” <— SO true haha
I can’t even tell you how happy I am for you, Alison. Seriously. I still remember you being nervous about going off to college, and here you are kicking butt and taking names after your first semester. So happy. I hope that the next one is even better for you, because you deserve all the blessings in the world ❤
Ugh, my heart is bursting. Your support and example are definitely factors in my growth as a person, Amanda. I mean it. Thank you ❤️
Great list! I think 10AM classes are ideal too. That was the time I always felt most alert 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful winter break!
Just enough time to have a nice, long breakfast 😉 hope you have a fantastic holiday season also, Di!
OH MAN! I remember when I would have winter break from college! It was ALWAYS the best feeling in the world! THE BEST!! It would always stink to have to go back though too, ha ah! Just warning you – but I am sure you’ll be fine!
I love the “lesson” you learned about holding doors for people. I remember I had loads of groceries in my hands (wanted to make just one trip, you know – ha ha) and well, NO ONE helped me open the door and in fact 2 of the bags RIPPED and not ONE PERSON STOPPED TO HELP ME!!! So flipping rude! I wanted to throw my tomatoes at them, but then I thought I would much rather eat them, even if they were rolling all over the ground, lol! Wow, I cannot believe how long ago I was in college! CRAZY!
One thing I want to let you know – DO NOT STRESS TOO MUCH! You’re going to make it out alive, even if you think THAT ONE CLASS IS GOING TO KILL YOU!
Some people are incredible. In the bad way. I’m sorry to hear that you had to experience such rudeness!!
And thank you for that piece of advice! I know there will be classes in the future that will make me cry more often than not. I will try to remember your words of wisdom! 🙂
You’re always more than welcome to vent to me! 🙂
At the end of it all.. I swear I’ll be able to say I had a taste of college – without even having gone, thanks to you 🙂 !
I absolutely agree with gaining snippets of wisdom from daily life and experiences…on my last recent vacay I was observed as a weird one..but in such a loving way, it made my heart happy.
Ah yes! Traveling is such a fantastic opportunity to learn about life. I’m glad to hear you encountered joyful experiences!
Aww I loved reading this! It reminded me of my first semester at uni… 11 years ago!! Eeek!! 🙂
This post made me happy and hungry because of that lemon grass chicken!
You’ve tackled this semester SO well and it’s just been a taste of what is to come. Hopefully less statistics. Hope the home internet cafe is going strong 😉
Of course the lemongrass chicken made you happy. Wish you could have shared with me cuz it was A LOT!
Thanks so much, pal. Home internet cafe is definitely going strong 😉
The most important thing I learned in college was that relationships with God, family, and *true friends are ALL that matters. Everything else you are blessed with is a simply an added bonus. (:
Happy holidays!
Amen!! Hope you have a Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday!
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