Did I really look that lost last year? It’s official: I was different from them.

This thought crossed my mind the other day while walking by a group of prospective students. No longer was I the one clutching a red SMU backpack and map… now I was the one walking past the tour guides on my way to some undisclosed class.

This made me reflect on the difference a year has made in my life, as well as the other 1,000-plus people who can say they are freshmen at SMU. To think that we will soon have our first year of college under our belt is very odd. But, one thing about life, for better or worse, is that you can’t stop it.

This time last year I was a senior in one of Texas’ smallest and most impoverished schools. One of my favorite stories to tell is that we had to ration ketchup and actually even had a “ketchup Czar.” The lunch lady at the checkout table made sure we only had two packets of ketchup. This was, of course, necessary because otherwise, the school would have obviously run amok and bankruptcy would have been sure to ensue.

But in reality, if we were caught with more than two packets we would go down in the “ketchup offender’s book,” and yes, repeat offenders were denied ketchup for the rest of the year.

Compared to that, college seemed like a scary, far away place, not something that would actually become my reality. I was always raised knowing that I would go to college. Once there, the plan sort of stopped; I never actually thought that I would grow up.

To put it mildly, my high school experience did not prepare me for college. There was so much that I didn’t simply understand. AP style and archaeology were considered things that other kids learned, not me. So, on the fateful day that college began, I was in for a bumpy ride.

After about a week, I wasn’t sure if college was right for me. Everything was so new and different. This seems cliché, but I was truly experiencing life on my own for the first time—something for which, until college, you can never really prepare. This sink or swim environment was so different than my previous comfort zone.

I had graduated with 70 people from high school, had only four hallways to get from class to class, and there was an agricultural barn located in the parking lot. The differences between SMU and high school were night and day. To put it simply, SMU cared about making its campus look nice and favored plush green grass, while my high school was a big ole Texas weed.

After beginning to adjust to my new life here and settling in, life seemed to pick up. First semester ended and what was supposed to be a long winter break seemed to fly by. This semester has gone by quickly as well, but classes are getting harder and there never seems to be enough time in the day. I now consider myself lucky if I get to have two meals a day—a clear sign that I’m a college kid.

In short, I look at the potential class of 2015 now with anticipation. The freshman experience will soon start over, and I will no longer be a part of it. To reminisce on such a tumultuous year seems silly, but my freshman year has been everything I hoped it would be. I am a college kid through and through. I understand the difference between the harshness of getting up for an 8 a.m. and the luxury of having a 9:30 a.m. class. Studying is now my favorite pastime. All food is measured in comparison to the Umphrey Lee Center’s, therefore making it undoubtedly better. (This is the danger of the freshman 15, after cafeteria food… anything is good) But, most importantly, I understand how to not look so lost on a college campus. You have to live the experience and become a local. And that’s the difference a year makes.

Savannah Stephens is a first year communications studies and history double major. She can be reached for comments or questions at [email protected].