“I wished I realized that everyone has a different path of life ahead of them. There’s no right way and no one knows what they’re doing. Embrace it. I loved knowing the faculty’s names at Wesleyan. I don’t think many people realize how beautiful the Wesleyan campus is. There is always such green grass and fresh pine straw. The Wesleyan community is still so loving and supportive it is. It feels like home. Go Wolves.”
- Abbie Blauser ’18
“Going into college, I wish I would have known that it’s important to say no sometimes. Also, that sometimes the first people you meet are going to be your close friends, but most of the time you’ll find your best friends pursuing things that you both find important. So, it’s more important to figure out who you want to be than it is to figure out who your friends are going to be. I took my organized schedule for granted, and all of my friends having the same schedule as me. This will probably never happen again for the rest of your life. I’ve definitely had to learn how to intentionally make time to keep up with people and exercise too. Not being in a sport after school every day is where the “Freshman 15” comes from, dining halls and cookout. It’s inevitable if you don’t pre-plan. There’s a lot of Wesleyan pride at UGA. It’s kind of weird, but also funny and special because there are inside jokes that only other Wesleyan people understand. Like when someone says that’s too much, and in my mind, I’m saying, “too much, that’s tooooo much!”. I also love being able to keep in touch with teachers from Wesleyan and seeing them at events, like a baby shower for my sister. It’s crazy. College is fun. You’ve been equipped well to succeed in school, and you’ve been equipped with biblical knowledge that is totally invaluable. College is kind of a test-trial for the real world, so it’s the best time to figure out what really interests you. It’s 1000% okay if you don’t know what that is right now but get involved and pray about figuring out what that is.”
- Mary Cowart ‘16
“I wish I had known that college is actually hard. I was expecting to come in and not have to study as hard as I did in high school for grades and have all this free time. False. School can be tough at times and I’m busier than I’ve ever been. You’ll be as busy as you allow yourself to be, but I never knew school would be as tough. I took for granted how easy it was to do laundry… it’s embarrassing but half of the time I’m wearing dirty clothes because it’s such a pain to take 2 hours out of your day to do your laundry. I will always cherish the culture Wesleyan has created throughout its community. It’s remarkable what genuine care and encouragement the teachers offer, which has created a fruitful environment and culture. That’s really unique. Some days it’s pretty cool to be able to wake up at 10:00, go to one or two classes throughout the day, then know you don’t have to think about school again till you do the same thing again tomorrow.”
“I wish I knew which AP classes to take. I only used (for course credit) one of my several AP classes for credit because most of the AP classes I took were required by my major or for medical schools, so I had to retake the classes despite doing well on the AP exam. Granted, I did well on the classes I had to “retake” because of a strong base from high school, so it may have been worth it. I took for granted the sports. It is hard to stay in shape in college when you don’t have a constant and required source of exercise. I also miss competing. Intramurals are great, but there is something special about competing for something that actually matters to you, your teammates, and your school. I hate to break it to ya, but no one cares about your intramural team. The community itself. I still talk with so many teachers and friends from high school. Being able to have an hour-long conversation with Ms. Trotter, Drew Masters or Mr. Lisson a year after graduation is so special. They truly care about my life and how I am doing. One last thing is to work hard and don’t get sucked into what everyone else is doing. It is possible to get straight as (though not easy) even though everyone around you tells you it isn’t. There will be more people who are slacking and partying around you than those who aren’t, so be different and focus on your work, your moral and memorable social life (key words moral and memorable), and most importantly your relationship with God. There is plenty of community in college that is knit together by the loving hand of God – Go find it.”
- Eric Panther ‘17
“Something I wish I had been told going into college is that it is completely okay to not know what you want to major in or do with your professional career. A lot of people come into college with a vision for what they want to major in, minor in and what exact career path they want. I commend those people for being passionate about a certain area coming into college, but you have to remember that it is okay to change directions if you are not sure that is what you are looking for. At Georgia Tech, I did three terms of a co-op and an internship last summer and decided it was ultimately what I did not want to do long-term and those experiences have opened up so many different doors for full-time. Looking back on Wesleyan, the biggest thing I took for granted was the connections I was able to make with my teachers. College professors will never come close to the amount of genuine interest that Wesleyan teachers have for your success in school and in life. Cherish that even if you are in a class that you struggle with because at the end of the day, they care about you more than a college professor will be able to. I still cherish the connections I was able to make while at Wesleyan. Coming back to school may feel a little bit weird after having been gone for a few years, the relationships that you make with different teachers and students are something that will never fade away. It is really awesome to see people I knew in high school figuring out what they are doing full-time and where that will take them.”
- Will Sharron ‘15
“College (and all things in life) is what you make it. What you put in, is what you get out, and you have the ability and the power to make your experience incredible. Social media is not a depiction of what your life will be like. There are so many exciting opportunities that await, people to meet, and memories to make- so take advantage. Yes, this is a big transition, but you are fully equipped to have an amazing experience. Believe in yourself. I took for granted the teachers. The personal relationships and overall time that teachers invest in students at Wesleyan is something you cannot find anywhere. I have had amazing professors at Tech, and I do have personal relationships with them, but it is so unique the quantity of quality, deep relationships I had with my teachers at Wesleyan. I still cherish the memories I made from my mission trips, some of my friendships and obviously the amazing teachers.”
- Caroline Cusick ‘15
“One thing I wish I had known going into college is that you don’t have to do what everyone else is doing just because they are doing it. when I went to college, I thought “I have to do be in a sorority, I have to join this club, I have to spend my weekends doing this, etc.” I wish I had known that college is a time where you have freedom like you have never had before and that I could use that freedom to spend my time doing things that really make me happy and trying out things that I never had before just to have a better understanding of what I love doing. I miss the community. Wesleyan offered us an immediate community of friends and teachers who cared about us as individuals. In college, community is not as easy to come by. it took me until second semester to find my group of friends in college. that does not mean that all of first semester I spent all my time alone, but I missed the community that Wesleyan offered me and the teachers who cared about me and invested their time in me. The Wesleyan community does not end after high school, at least it didn’t for me. my two best friends in college are Beck Coxhead and Caroline Beltrami (two other Wesleyan grads). When I see people on campus that also graduated from Wesleyan, we stop and talk to each other even if we aren’t close friends because Wesleyan gives us common ground. I still talk with my high school young life leader, Katie Bridgers, and my former soccer coach, Ms. Gilbert. I still talk to and see some of my friends that went to different colleges like Sydney Weissman and Camille High. All of this to say that the Wesleyan community does not just disappear once you throw your cap and drive through Zach Young Parkway for the last time, but if you let it, it will stick with you throughout your college experience which is something that I have really come to love and appreciate.”
- Ellie Hall ‘15
“I wish I was told realistically how hard first semester would be. Going from a small private school to a huge SEC school was a huge change and it took some time to adjust. It takes a while to learn the flow of things: classes, balancing school work with everything else and meeting friends and finding the ones who will last longer than freshman year. I think I took for granted/didn’t realize how much I would miss how comfortable I was at Wesleyan and home. The daily routine was so nice – school, practice, support others in their events, go eat with everyone and then do some homework at night. It was so easy, and we were so happy all the time. Yeah high school was hard but there was no stress. I was best friends with my teachers and could go speak to them anytime. I could call them with life problems or text about school work. It was such a blessing and I think that’s what made Wesleyan feel like home and has a strong impact on who I grew into/became going into college. I’m finishing up my sophomore year and Auburn has been the best thing that has happened to me! I’m so thankful and now I am home here and so happy. I still cherish all the relationships I have from Wesleyan. I love catching up with my old teachers on how they are doing and what is going on in their lives. I still have my best friends from Wesleyan, and they will be forever. I loved how even in high school it was so easy to be friends with all grades. Some of my closest friends are in the grades above and below me – I’m so thankful Wesleyan allowed it to be so easy to interact in our free time with students in other grades. I think about Wesleyan all the time and how it truly did prepare me for what all Auburn had to offer. So thankful. My biggest regret from freshman year was how I used my free time apart from studying. Instead of texting new friends and asking them to lunch to grow a stronger friendship, I would just go back to my room and eat there or take a nap because I was just exhausted. So many friendships could have come from that – I wasn’t willing enough to sit through awkward conversations. I’ve done this a lot more sophomore year and I’ve made the coolest friends and learned so much about myself in doing so.”
- Whitney Archer ‘17
“I wish I knew a lot of things going into college like how to better budget your money or how to balance time between social and school. But the main thing I wish I knew before going to college is knowing how truly different life is here. You go through this growing period where you have to decide what you want to stand for, the kinds of people you want to live life with, and how committed are you towards securing your future. It’s a lot of hard work but it’s all in the mindset. Honestly, I took for granted my parents buying and cooking me meals. Also, I took for granted my teachers genuine encouragement in me, spiritually and academically. I will say it time and time again, I will always cherish the teams I was a part of at Wesleyan. Being a part of team is such a sweet and unique experience that Wesleyan does an excellent job encouraging everyone to experience at some point. Whether it was running through the mud with Cross Country, laughing through laps in the white lane in the Nat, or doing stadiums in preparation for lax season, I loved it all and will always cherish those relationships and coaches.”
- Lolly Zimmerman ‘17
