Hi, I’m a freshman, a young, naïve child who is still trying to wrap her head around the concept of being able to go to the bathroom without asking for permission.

I know next to nothing about college life. I live at home, and I still apologize to my teachers for being late to class.

I, however, do not blame myself because no one told me anything about college while I was in high school.

For example, why did no one tell me that homecoming was a thing in college until this week?

It seems that there’s this unspoken rule to not let the high schoolers know that there is more to college than ramen noodles and pulling all-nighters.

The way people talked to me in high school always sort of implied that there are really no school-wide social activities.

But, boy, I was wrong. I was so wonderfully mistaken, and when I found out, my dreams of dancing with my friends again came flooding to the forefront of my mind.

I had so many questions: What kind of events are there during the week? How does the dance work? Are there chaperones? *gasp* Can I finally wear a sleeveless dress without a shawl? Speaking of which, is there a dress code for the dance?

I found myself swallowed in a sea of excitement and plans. I was ready. Sure it was short notice, but I have some formal dresses left over from high school.

I’m excited for homecoming week, even if I won’t be able to go to the dance or game. I’ve heard rumors of food trucks, and I can’t wait to see how the student body feels about this upcoming week.

In a separate vein, I think we need to seriously consider what we tell high schoolers about college. The party-hard or study-all-day experiences aren’t true for everyone, but that’s all that we have to go on when heading into college.

No one talks about things like homecoming or the block party to high schoolers, so must incoming freshmen expect only to either drown in homework or cheap beer at some point?

There are so many amazing things that go on right here on campus that you might not expect as a freshman. “College is surreal” is probably the most frequently sent message from my phone since my college career began, and it’s usually accompanied by a video or picture of whatever that surreal moment.

Hi, I’m a freshman, and no one told me that in the first month of school I’d find out that, contrary to what I was told, you don’t need to pick either partying or studying. “I don’t know” is an acceptable answer sometimes, and there are, in fact, dances in college. You just have look closely. But then again, no one tells me anything.