Freshman year is an exciting and terrifying time full of changes and new opportunities. For most of us, it’s our first time living in a dorm, and that brings as much nerves as it does excitement in the first few weeks.

I know I was ecstatic to start college last semester, but I still felt like I was a lamb thrown in a lion’s den in those first few weeks. It seemed like a lot of people had similar feelings.

So how are freshmen feeling now that they have one semester under their belts? Most people are looking forward to the spring semester, but how does the feeling compare to the feelings of starting last fall?

“I feel I was more excited for my first semester because there was a level of uncertainty and surprise that comes with transitioning into university life that made it more thrilling,” said Logan LaFave, freshman secondary education social science major. “I now have a relative idea of what to expect this semester, leaving out a feeling of everything being so new and fascinating.”

The first semester of college seems like you are entering into a whole new world, and in a sense you are. On the other hand, freshman marketing major Miranda Stewart said, “I’m much more excited for second semester. I was just a bundle of nerves first semester.”

Having a semester under your belt makes a huge difference. Everything seems a little more bearable now that you have an idea what to do.

One of the most important things learned the first semester is the importance of studying.

“I feel like I have to raise the bar from last semester, and that will require a lot more studying,” said Alex Jorge, a freshman political science major.

Similarly, Marissa Tennaro, a freshman elementary education major, said if she could do one thing differently from last semester she would “focus on studying longer before test days.”

Although there is obviously an idea that a college course will be hard, you don’t truly know the workload unless you have taken one. Freshmen entering their second semester have a better grasp on what to expect, which makes a huge difference. You no longer feel quite as clueless.

Along with studying, many important things are learned during the first semester of college.

“Learning how to balance school work and social life” was the most important thing freshman undeclared major Georgia Hutcheon learned.

That is just another thing freshmen now know and can enter the spring semester with.

“I am extremely excited for the second semester because I get to hang out with my group of friends, which is like a second family to me, and make more,” said Evan Jones, a freshman criminal justice major.

Making memories with friends is one of the most important things about college, and we have so many more opportunities to do so this semester.

As we have all experienced, you can learn a lot about yourself in a few months. Whether it is study habits, what you need to do to survive living in your dorm or how to succeed in a college course.

Freshmen now have a better idea of how to handle it. It’s obvious most freshmen are excited to be starting the second semester with this experience under their belts and new friends by their side.