Well, now that my first month of second semester is drawing to a close, you could say I’m a professional college student. (Just kidding.) But I would classify myself as a pretty reliable source to get advice from. After all, I did survive first semester of college and persevered through onto another semester. Here’s what you can look out for in terms of first semester and second semester.

fIRST SEMESTER

In your first semester you will be a newbie, therefore every place you turn you will see new things that you haven’t seen before. You won’t know how to work the bus or Bongo (the bus app). You might even take the wrong bus sometimes and end up in Mayflower even though you live on the West side (aka something I did). You may also be overwhelmed with people saying “West side” or “East side”, but soon enough you’ll learn that the west side is the best side. You’ll get lost going to classes and you will still be getting comfortable making friends. You’ll feel like you’ll never make friends, but trust me you will. The workload will seem like too much to handle at times, but you’ll survive. Before you know it, you’ll blink and you’ll be home with your family for the holidays wishing the days would pass by faster so you could go back to Iowa.

Second semester

In your second semester, you’ll be a pro. You’ll know how to use Bongo and you know that the Hawkeye Interdorm DOES NOT go from Rienow to the east side, but from Rienow through a big random loop back in the west side and then back to the east side. You’ll also know where everything is and won’t be using Google Maps to find buildings anymore. You’ll know which places have the best food (Burge burritos forever). You’ll know to avoid Catlett at peak lunch hours because of how overwhelming it gets. You’ll know how to manage your time (kind of.) You’ll have found your people. You’ll be closer to your roommate. And you will be sad knowing that the Spring semester somehow seems shorter than the Fall semester, meaning that your time in Iowa is limited and summer seems to be creeping up a little too fast. Soon enough you’ll find yourself thinking: Man, I wish summer was over so I was back in Iowa for my sophomore year.

 

The first semester flies by and even though it’s only the end of the second semester it feels like it’s flying by even faster. Four years is starting to seem like it’s not enough.