First Year in College Recap: A Note From a Past Editor

By Haley Smith 

June 5, 2022

Hi Melrose High School Imprint! It’s been a while since I wrote for fun, and not a paper on St. Augustine of Hippo, Dorothy Day, or Jean-Jacques Rousseau, to name a few of the people I learned about this past year. I am sitting in my bed right now, exactly one month since I took the last final exam of my freshman year of college. It was a microeconomics final, a class I enjoyed simply because of the people in it. You’ll hear that a lot in this little note. The people I met my first year at Villanova University changed me for the better and made me fall more in love with college than I already was. I miss Villanova terribly, so I’m bound to be a little sentimental writing this now. 

All throughout high school (and you can ask Mr. Stewart this), I was the college girl – making spreadsheets for myself and others with all the information you could possibly need to know about any given school. I could riddle off statistics one after the other, spouting locations and school colors of schools you probably had never heard of. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted my junior year of high school, a time where you were supposed to be delving deeper into college research and touring schools. Lucky for me, come March 13, 2020, I had already toured seventeen colleges, one of them being my future home. Beginning senior year, I had a top four, but I never had a top choice. It was assumed by many that I would attend Syracuse University, where both of my parents had gone, and a place whose merchandise I had proudly worn since the seventh grade. I love Syracuse, and I always will, but still I wasn’t quite sure where I wanted to go. And so I went through the admissions process as any senior in high school does. It was exhausting, with way too many supplemental essays and stressing over submitting test scores. But in the end, it was rewarding. I finished my college applications early - no surprise there - submitting them all before November 1st. I applied to twelve schools, and was pleased with most of the results I heard. I committed to Villanova University in Villanova, PA on March 1st of my senior year of high school and it was one of the scariest things I have ever done. Villanova was a school that had been on my radar since seventh grade, when they won the 2016 National Championship in basketball (yes, I love going to a basketball school). Then they won again in 2018 (Go Cats), and I began to take that school more seriously, with it continuously rising to the top of my list. My mother grew up in PA, not too far from campus, and her mother and brother still live there today. This made it even more appealing for me to go to a school six hours away from home because I could still had family close by. Up until I committed to Villanova, I assumed I was going to Northeastern University. Northeastern is a wonderful school with wonderful people and a wonderful atmosphere, but it was not ths school for me. I would learn this after a couple weeks at Villanova. In the spring of senior year, I was proud to announce I was going to Villanova, but I also regretted it. I am not a big fan of change. I am not a big fan of decisions. And this decision would lead to the biggest change in my life. I was terrified for the thing I had spent four years working tirelessly towards. 

The spring of my senior year was the most mentally challenging time of my life. I have never returned to that dark mental spot, and while I won’t touch any more upon it in this note, I will say that it was the lowest point in my life. I distracted myself with the thoughts of college. I picked a roommate (a girl who would become my very best friend), selected classes to build my schedule and tried to meet as many people online as possible. This was the exciting part. I love my hometown friends, the people I spent years of my life with, but I was excited for a fresh start. I threw myself into this process. Once August 1st hit, everything felt real. I was the first of my friends to leave for college and on August 16th, I got in the car and drove six hours to my grandmothers house. Two days later, I would be unpacking my car into my new home. The whole summer, I was absolutely terrified of what to expect from college, but within three weeks, I had found my groove. Of course, I got sick right away coming to college, so I was a little miserable at first, but we shook that off and moved on. My roommate Erin is my best friend. Not to be dramatic, but I would die for her. She’s my person, and a huge reason why I loved college. I lived in the biggest freshman dorm, and let me tell you - it was an experience. I also lived on the first floor, so there was definitely noise. Never a dull moment in Stanford. I also would die for Stanford. Yes, I would die for the building. And then, please bury me there. My hallmates became my best friends. I don’t think I ever met a mean person at Villanova. I could talk all day about my friends. From the people in my dorm, to my classes, to later my sorority and different activities I was involved in, Villanova again and again showed just how wonderful its students were. Of course, knowing me, I did join a large variety of extracurriculars, which truly heightened the experience. I got to be a part of so many amazing experiences and I am so grateful for that. 

I guess I can do a little fall semester vs. spring semester recap. There’s a lot that happened, so I’ll try to make it as succinct as possible. This is me reminiscing.

Fall semester 2021: I mentioned how I was terrified, right? Oh, yes I was. College is scary, but you have to let yourself experience new things – change is how you grow. Orientation was a time and a half, with long days that immersed you to the school so quickly you didn’t have time to miss home. And I never did - haha, sorry Mom and Dad and Ian - but I was never homesick. Villanova was my home very soon after you dropped me off. Everything is better in college, and I realized that early on. I have always been an independent person, so this was amazing. I was meeting people who were similar to me, but also so different. I met a boy too, but we don’t have to talk about him. Villanova is an academically challenging school, but between late nights studying for exams, there was going to football games, having “fam dinners” with my hallmates and time spent in the gym with friends. There were movie nights and gossip sessions, late night talks in our bathroom that we decorated to make more homey with pictures and prettier shower curtains and little vines. When winter break came, I didn’t want to leave my home. I didn’t think it could get any better. 

Spring semester 2022: I started by joining a sorority and while a scary process, I met even more amazing people! See I told you I would tell you more about the amazing people I met. Sisters! I’ve never had sisters before!!! Joining my sorority has been such a terrific experience and I am excited to see how I grow amongst all these people. Spring semester, I really kicked it up a notch. I met more people, become more involved in the activities I joined first semester, and saw more mental and physical growth than I ever had before (thank you, boy I mentioned before). I truly was thriving in every way imaginable. At home, I had seven or so best friends. At school, I had a best friend for every reason. Each relationship I fostered at Villanova made me a better person. It’s actually one of my best friend’s birthdays today, and she is all the way in Oregon. It pains me I can’t celebrate with her. My birthday is in January, and all my friends showed me how loved I was on that day. Basketball season was in full swing this semester and we made it to the final four, which was epic. Classes were harder, but I pushed myself through and ended with results I was happy with once again. I took more pictures spring semester, something I think is noteworthy, and  in each picture you could see me radiating happiness. 

When I came home for different breaks and people asked me how college was, I never responded with anything negative. In fact, even if it was just a week break, I would say I wish I was back already and that I missed it. I was beyond nervous to go to college, but it was in college where I think I truly became myself. There is so much growth that comes with going somewhere new. I also love that I go to school six hours away. Villanova is my happy place and I am so grateful that I get to call myself a Villanova Wildcat. I loved all my professors, the classes I had, though challenging, were rewarding, the beautiful campus I get to walk on every day and call mine, the basketball team I get to cheer on and the friends I have made along the way – everything at Villanova is perfect. I will also mention that Villanova is a religious school, the only religious school I applied to and I think that only adds to the whole experience. I think it makes people nicer, but that might just be me. If I could do freshman year all over again, I would. The time went by way too quickly. 

While I am the first Melrose High School graduate to attend Villanova University, I will not be the last. With a longtime friend coming in August, I am also hopeful that my rising-senior brother Ian will also attend. But who really knows. I didn’t. It all works out in the end. I can’t thank Villanova enough for the first-year experience of a lifetime.