FRESHMAN EXPERIENCE:

There is not enough room on this paper to tell you about all the wonderful, crazy things I've experienced during my first semester of college. I've met some of the greatest people ever, worked to improve myself as both a successful student and journalist, got involved in clubs and organizations, and grew in ways I'm not even sure how to explain. Perhaps maturity has begun to catch up with me? Everyone always told me it would hap­pen someday, but I'm starting to realize how correct people really were. College does, in fact, change you.

College has visibly changed me and will continue to change me for the next four years. I can see my face beginning to look older in pictures and everything. In the first semester alone: my eating habits were all thrown off, I was transported for alcohol poisoning, I barely got the opportunity to sleep, coffee became my best friend, the library became a safe-haven, Cedar became a home, and classes became too much to handle.

You know what the strangest part is about all of this may be? In such a short period of time, there has been so much drama between people that have only known each other for four months. How do you even have time for that to happen? How does anyone have time for anything anymore? It seri­ously blows my mind.

Are these things that every freshman had to deal with? No, technically, not all of them. But besides being transported, freshmen are thrown into the same whirlwind of emotions (a.k.a. first semester) with­out any clue as to what will happen. College, in its many forms, as previously listed, is a huge step towards the unknown. Is that something people realize while they're in the midst of it all? Probably not. But over winter break, if you take the time to sit back and think about it, you will be amazed at how much has hap­pened to you over these past four months.

Change is a very hard thing to deal with for most people, myself included. But freshmen need to take this first semester as a huge learning experience and grow from there. We're young; we're supposed to make mistakes in order to learn from them. We're supposed to strive towards perfection until finally, we realize it doesn't exist. That is what college is supposed to be about.

Roger Williams University is a very credible institution, and along with a great educa­tion came a few great life lessons: make sure you shower with shoes on, keep your head up, and strive to be the best person you can be. Hey kids, we can make a difference. Do you know that? Does that feel real to you yet? If not, that's alright. We still have a whole new semester to look forward to. Wait until you see what we're capable of.

"The greatest crime in the world is not developing your potential. When you do what you do best, you are help­ing not only yourself, but the world." – Roger Williams