Every single “senior advice” column I’ve ever read has said the same thing. Study hard, time flies, try new things. Anyone with half a brain cell could rattle off these things, and to be honest, these pieces of advice never helped me as a freshman, and I don’t think they’ll help any freshman now. Instead, I offer you some real advice, which might even be actually helpful.

It’s okay to fail

So that group project was a giant disaster, so you failed your math test. Who cares. You are only human and you are allowed to make mistakes. This isn’t high school where anyone is going to call your parents, and crying to your professor isn’t going to change your grade. Instead pick yourself up, try a little harder, and learn from the mistakes you made before. Don’t keep doing the same thing if it isn’t working out.

Don’t worry about who you thought you were

When I came to Millikin, I told everyone I was an English major, because that was what I was. I had always known I would be an English major, I wanted to write books, and I thought a creative writing degree could help me on that path. Well that was freshman year, then sophomore year I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, and now, as I head into December graduation, I’ll be joining the Peace Corps. Things change and that’s alright. I spent a lot of time fretting over changing my major, because I thought being an English major was just a part of who I was. It wasn’t, and I’m still here, being me.

Don’t join things you’re not really into

English club, Philosophy club, and some board game club that I’m not even sure still exists are just a few examples of things that I got involved in, spent time at meetings and events, and have now dropped. The people are great, but the clubs just aren’t things that I’m particularly interested in, and that’s okay. Be open to trying new things and joining clubs you never thought existed, but don’t be scared to cut them out when your enthusiasm dies out.

Do you

If anyone tells you you’re wasting your college years, stop talking to them. Whether you want to sleep for 12 hours a day, or have to spend 12 hours studying, you’re college experience is yours, and it’s going to be totally unique and different from anyone else’s. Don’t let people make you feel bad about the things you enjoy doing. Your life is your own and you should fill it with the things that make you full of joy- if that’s your thing, and if not, whatever, you do you.

The time really is going to fly by, before you know it you’re a senior and you hardly know anyone on campus. You’re expected to have a job once you graduate, and be able to cook for yourself, pay bills, and a million other things you never took a class on. Luckily there are people who are happy and willing to help you at every turn. Also if there’s not people to help you, there is at the very least the internet, who will always be there for you.