So far in this series, I’ve been focused on football, but the other interesting part of my life right now has been the whole college experience. For the third installment I wanted to take a step back from football and focus on the other part of the title, and how my life as an athlete influences that.

I got to campus on August 10th, which means I’ve been here 18 days now. It feels like I’ve been here for two years. I barely remember what home was like, and don’t tell my family, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

My freshman experience has been a bit different from some of the other football players. Most of them spend all their time with teammates, from rooming with teammates to sitting with them every meal. I feel very connected with the team even though I haven’t done that nearly as much. My roommate is a non-athlete, and that has actually been a great arrangement for me (although I feel kind of bad for him, having to put up with my 5am alarm twice a week for morning lift). As a non-athlete he is friends with a lot of random people and I kind of get looped into that, I usually eat meals with people I have met outside of football (often through my roommate) which just brings a very nice balance to life. I know some football players who complain that they haven’t talked to a single girl, yet they sit at the same lunch table every day where there are only football players. I have a mixed-gender friend group which is a much better way to meet people in my opinion.

I also did a pre-orientation program, which I think is a great idea for any incoming college freshman. You get to adjust to campus a few days extra, and you get time in small groups to meet people you might otherwise never get to know. I’ve been talking with this girl I met on pre-orientation, and while it’s been a bit of an emotional roller coaster (ENTIRELY my own fault, I’m not that interesting of a person lol) I still feel lucky that I had (maybe still have?) a chance with her. I could waffle on about her all day but I’m already sounding like a simp (I promise I’m not) so let’s get to the next topic.

Classes! The worst part of college. I was a 5.0+ GPA guy in high school and I already want to skip half my classes. 4 total classes and about two hours a day in class sounds super easy, right? But there’s so much homework attached, and it’s tough to stay awake in these classes when you have so much other stuff to do. Between sports, hanging out with friends, eating meals, etc, it’s almost hard to find time to do all my homework. I already had to ask for an extension on one of my assignments because I had a football scrimmage tonight, and it’s only the first week of class. Luckily, college professors are chill people and will probably grant the extension if you have a valid reason, but I was never that guy in high school and now I hate school and want to do literally anything else on campus.

Have you ever heard someone say college is the most fun time of your life? I have. I thought they were referring to the partying and drinking, which I don’t do, so I wasn’t expecting much. But just saying yes to things means you will have fun whether you drink or not. College is the time for random get-togethers. Whether you’re watching a movie in the college’s mini theater, going on dorm tours with every random person you meet, going to midnight karaoke, going down the street to get ice cream or wander the shops, or even just helping your friends bring their stuff upstairs as they move in, there is always a way to make and enjoy friends in college. It’s built into the whole process: everyone lives within about a half a mile, and that’s something you can take advantage of to have a great time all the time.

This was super disorganized, but in conclusion: college is great, class sucks, say yes to stuff. Oh and I am accepting advice regarding the end of paragraph 4. Thanks for reading, soon I will have to update you all on the scrimmage I just got out of, but first I have to watch the film for myself (which will probably be my during-class method to stay awake).