#DeepThoughtsByKeren

You just graduated from high school.

You're probably still raving about your prom dress and being tagged in pictures in the "best prom limo ever." You're still thinking about how much fun you had getting wasted in that hotel room with your best friends. You reminisce about that one friend that just had to fulfill her clich?(c) dream by losing her virginity after prom (while you were in the room). You've been told that college will be hard and professors will not baby you like they did in high school.

You heard the same deal moving from fifth to sixth grade, and from eighth grade to high school. But during those transitions nothing really changed.

This time, I encourage you to listen to your teachers' advice.

This is not just any school, but a university with approximately 30,000 other students. You are moving from classrooms where you are one of 20 to one of 450. From desks with a little slot to store your scratch and sniff markers, to lecture halls with squeaky, turning chairs and about one foot of space on a desk that you share with those sitting next to you.

It's not going to be an easy transition and there are many things you need to prepare for. In high school, you may have feared the infamous "Freshman Friday." When that first Friday rolled around, and seniors did not shove you into garbage cans or hang you in toilet stalls by your underwear, you felt that sense of relief and knew that everything would be okay.

While moving forward to college, you may not need to fear "Freshman Friday," but you should fear the weekends - at least in the beginning.

Your first couple nights out, you'll probably find yourself wandering Main Street on South Campus. You will also probably find yourself face down on the toilet, while a friend almost - if not just as - drunk as you holds your hair back as the toilet water splashes its way onto your face. After the first couple of failed attempts at a successful night out, you will find yourself in fraternity house basements, sporting your newest, and nicest heels while being approached by the "classiest" boys Buffalo has to offer.

Getting way too drunk to function happens to the best of us. It also sometimes kills the best of us. According to the article "College Student Alcohol Related Deaths" on potsdam.edu, by David J. Hanston, there are 1,700 college student deaths annually that are related to alcohol.

It is absolutely crucial to be careful when going out at night. The early weeks, before you understand that you are not invincible and you do have a limit, are the scariest. The best advice I have to give: do not drink. However, I refuse to be na??ve while giving you advice, and so I'm taking into consideration that many freshmen tend to get wild, especially if they're living in dorms and are far away from the supervision they are accustomed to.

Monitor your alcohol intake and always stay with friends.

Main Street is no exception to the kidnapping, assaults, and robberies that occur near college campuses. I have friends who have been held at gunpoint, and that's definitely not a story your parents would like to hear after paying thousands of dollars for your college tuition - trust me.

At least one in four college women and one in six college men will be the victim of a sexual assault during his or her academic career, according to statistics compiled by the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Don't be one of them.

This is your chance to start fresh. Use this opportunity to become the person you've always wanted to become. The workload might be overwhelming at first, but that's not something a pack of highlighters and a good study ethic can't fix.

People tend to get wild with this independent lifestyle, but don't sleep around or create a bad reputation for yourself - you will be here for the next four years and first impressions really do matter.

This is your next step. Life isn't about finding yourself; it's about creating yourself. It's important that you take the next four years to do just that so create the best version of yourself that you possibly can!

Email: keren.baruch@ubspectrum.com