Dear Freshman Year Me,

First piece of advice is major in public health instead of IS. Literally if there is one thing I regret the most it's that I didn't major in public health. When I was a freshman, I assumed public health would be difficult because it had science in it but lmao I was so wrong. Not only is it the easiest major in Hopkins but it is also one of the most prestigious when you graduate. It's a major where you can definitely get a job afterwards. If you wanna major in something else, just do yourself a favor and double major with public health.

Second piece of advice is don't be intimidated by all the STEM people. I wasn't good at STEM in high school but I ended up doing well in college math. I think if I had been less insecure about my own intelligence I would have taken more classes that I liked.

At the same time, it is always good to take a few easy classes each semester to balance your load. It's easier to take a 4 credit easy language class with good reviews on rate my professor than a difficult 1 credit lab if you can avoid it.

Also, you should know that you make your real long term friends in Sophomore spring so don't get too attached to your friends from freshman year. And a lot of other JHU seniors I've spoken to agree with this. Freshman year friendships often don't end up lasting long for a lot of people for whatever reason and that's ok. I think it's because there are a lot of changes between freshman and sophomore year. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Also, I would say focus on school, but also make sure you budget some time for fun too. My freshman year I had a 4.0 but I was extremely depressed. It's much healthier to balance your schoolwork with some fun times as well. I'll never forget this one time I decided to hang out with my friends for a few hours instead of studying for a very difficult econometrics midterm. It was the first 70 degree day since winter had started, and I just sat with my friends outside of the library in the sun for hours, drinking this refreshing juice from Brody cafe. It was one of the best days I ever had. It also ended up being my last full day at Hopkins because the next day we received an email that school was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Good luck,

Future Anna