By: Natalia Wurst ‘21

It seems almost impossible to encapsulate everything your first year of college teaches you about adulthood in one blog (which is great, because it should be). For awhile, I put off even trying–until I realized that, 12 months ago, I was exactly you. I didn’t care whether the author of the content I was reading felt self-conscious about the quality or relevance of her words. I needed answers, and I needed them before I spiraled into a black hole of doubt and what-ifs. So without further ado, the following are four takeaways from my experience, yours to leave or take.

By: Natalia Wurst ‘21

As of recently, I became a double major. But before deciding law school (and major debt) is definitely for me, I declared psychology as my undergraduate degree—and stuck with it because of how much it fills my heart with joy. The inquires continue to pour in from close family friends and from strangers in the supermarket. “Oh, so you want to be a therapist?” “So can you help us figure out what makes this family so whack?” And of course, my personal favorite, “Are you psychoanalyzing me right now?” (No, yes, and yes).

By: Natalia Wurst ‘21

It’s that point in the semester where everything feels extra not okay. Maybe you’d normally be able to handle simultaneously juggling two research papers, ten extracurriculars, and a couple of annoying suitemates, but you’ve been juggling that since mid-September. It’s old news now. I feel pretentious calling the following list “hacks,” like you’ve never thought of them before, but humor me for a little and pretend you haven’t. These are implementable techniques to make such times less hellish.

By: Natalia Wurst ‘21

Even though dining hall food is currently the most unappreciated aspect of my college experience, I know it will quickly turn into the metaphorical “one that got away” the minute I have to cook anything more complicated than pasta. Multiple sources have confirmed this fact. That being said, if you’re a freshman, or even a sophomore/junior/(senior?) with a meal plan, it’s perfectly valid to be sick of months or even years of the same old, same old. No one is denying that this a first world problem, but the struggle is a struggle nonetheless.

By: Natalia Wurst ‘21

If you’re anything like me and spent the summer before freshman year researching every possible way to mooch off our school, you probably don’t need this list. But for the rest of you sane people, who still want alternative (FREE) ways to spend your weekend besides watching Netflix, here is where to find them:

By: Natalia Wurst ‘21

It’s the time of the year when a lot a small talk conversations will somehow end up incorporating, “So, any spring break plans?” At that point, you probably already realized that a train ticket back to your hometown is the most money/energy/effort you can afford to spend. But then the doubts start to settle–does that make me a friendless lame-o who will look back on their college years and start uncontrollably sighing with regret? Is everyone hanging out without me? Fear not, because the answer is a 95% confident no to all of the above. Instead of making up a fake trip to the Bahamas with your fifty best friends, here’s why/how you should embrace going home for break:

By: Natalia Wurst ‘21

There’s an informal consensus I’ve gathered from making conversation with sleep deprived people on elevators: midterm season is just a never-ending cycle of death that comes at you every few weeks and doesn’t go away. I make a lot of jokes about crying at Leavey for a girl who’s trying to seem reputable here, so we’ll put those aside for now–here’s how to finally get around to being productive in these very bleak times.

By: Natalia Wurst ‘21

Hey guys, my name is Natalia. I’m a (mildly confused) freshman studying psychology but also thinking about double-majoring in neuroscience and minoring in law and public policy and also going to law school after graduation - so who even knows what’s up at this point. I’ll try to sprinkle in some fun facts into this intro post so it doesn’t sound like I’m just regurgitating my resume at you and hoping you’ll think I’m cool.