Amidst the anxiety of living away from home for the first time, the typical first year of university experience arrives wrapped in promises of absolute freedom, self-discovery and a life unrestrained by parental or guardian oversight. At every turn – from upper-year anecdotes to Reddit and TikTok insights – the message is clear that you are finally the architect of your own life. However, beneath the excitement and allure of complete autonomy lies a newly realized set of responsibilities – some that can feel just as overwhelming as the freedom feels thrilling.
Moving in and saying goodbye to those who dropped you off is the first big shock, but O’Week also feels like a lot. As you’re speedrunning through icebreaker games and putting on matching t-Shirts in between “where are you from and what’s your major” conversations, these activities all start to get really exhausting. You know networking is worth the effort, however, as some of the people you met in that week might end up being your closest confidants for the remainder of your university experience, or even roommates in your upper years. By the time you get back to your residence, you find that dorm room you just set up a few days ago becomes the only place you can find solace in.
The first week of classes rolls in, and you’re met with lectures packed with 700 students and a professor with a booming mic to reach even the students at the back with a hoodie covering their earbuds. At this stage, nobody is here to remind you about late assignments or discussion posts. Through all the tedious work of gathering all your textbooks, bookmarking due dates, and learning office hour etiquette you’ll refine your time management, and hopefully realize that asking for guidance early is a strategic move and not a sign of weakness.
Regardless of your level of independence before September of freshmen year, these are all new experiences for anyone entering university. It’s good to remember that at least everyone else around is just as rattled as you are.
Outside lectures and finding friends, the to-do list grows. Everyday life starts to settle in, and you quickly realize you’re now your own chef, janitor and financial planner, and those lectures you thought you could skip start to catch up to you. Amidst everything you imagined your freshman experience to be, you begin to ask yourself, is living away from home overrated?
I don’t think so, the chores of living on your own ultimately translate into meaningful rewards in return. You still get to wake up in a place arranged exactly how you like it, find a go-to study nook that no one else needs to know about, and last-minute plans will never be this easy to commit to. Autonomy may lead to more work, but it certainly brings with it a newfound sense of ownership over your everyday life.
Ultimately, independence is not just a one-time milestone, or something to be handed to you or switched on. It’s a skill you hone through daily choices and strategic self-care. While it may be overrated if you expect instant mastery, it’s something most people would much rather learn before they get even older, and not being able to cook your own meals becomes increasingly more embarrassing. Even looking into the near future, getting ahead start on learning how to maintain a living space will be something your upper year roommates will be thankful for.
By the time October comes, the opening sprint winds down, and you begin to map out your coming days and weeks far easier. Midterms may be around the corner, but you have a better grasp on study habits and work-life balance. At this point you might think to yourself this is all going to be okay.
The first-year experience varies a lot from student to student. Some students get to their first-year dorms and it’s their first time spending a night away from their parents, while others might have lived independently from a far earlier point in their life. Regardless though, everyone leaves their first year as a more well-rounded person than they were before.
