Freshman Year of College: An Education in Life

When Eliza, a second-semester freshman at the College of Charleston, answers the inevitable question, "what's you major?' she responds, "I'm majoring in life." Whether she realizes it or not, there's a lot of truth in her answer.  She's learning to how to share a room with a stranger, manage her time and finances, get the proper amount of sleep and exercise, and to eat well, but not too well. She's taking responsibility for all aspects of laundry and maintenance, including an infestation of mold in her suite. All lessons that really can't be taught at home.

When looking at college, three of my children have focused on something different. The first wanted to be in or near a city for the cultural and career opportunities. The next, initially said he wanted to go to Oregon or Texas, because those schools are really far away and I would not be able to visit frequently. But University of Delaware ended up being a good fit because it's too far for regular visits from his parents, but easy to get home. The last chose Charleston, because…well who doesn't like that city and now Southwest has a direct flight from Baltimore.

No matter what college they choose and for whatever reason, the transition to college is not easy as easy as the students think it will be. It's not a big sleepover. For many freshmen, college is their first time away from home and they are unprepared for the reality of living in an unfamiliar place, away from family and friends, and being responsible for all their decisions, including the basics of everyday life.

It's not easy. In retrospect, our older children readily admit the first weeks and months of college were difficult, but they knew changing schools or even changing dorms wasn't the answer. They had to find their way through awkward roommate situations, fire alarms at all hours of the night, and bad dining hall food. They learned to carve out time to study, exercise and fill their free time with new friends.

When they returned to campus after Christmas break they saw familiar faces in their classes and on campus, and suddenly their school wasn't the new and strange place it seemed only a few months earlier. They adjusted to managing their day-to-day lives, and things were far less awkward. By sophomore year they chose who to live with and in junior year the core classes were out of the way and they could focus on courses that pertained to their major.

College 101 was over and they passed. But, as they've since discovered, they'll always be working to earn their degree "in life."