Week in the Life of My First Year of College

Transitioning from high school to your first year of college can be difficult. Exploring a new campus, new classes, and all-new people can be daunting. Your first year at Grace will have countless opportunities to get involved and find new experiences, and you may not know where to start. 

The transition will seem a little less daunting if you know what to expect. That is why I have put together a sample of experiences from my first year at Grace College! 

Monday:

I started my first day of college classes by walking over to Alpha dining hall for breakfast. It was a warm August morning, and some teammates of mine joined me for breakfast. This was our first breakfast on campus, and excitement and nerves fueled the day. I got a breakfast burrito and fresh fruit before sitting down with some hallmates I recognized. Everyone talked about our first session of the day, first-year experience, or FYE, a class for all first-year students at Grace. FYE really started the weekend prior, as we had done a scavenger hunt that led to a cardboard boat race on the lake. Going into the first day, I knew almost all my classmates and was excited to see everyone again. 

After class, I tried Jazzbucks, an on-campus coffee shop at Philathea, to do some homework for a little bit. Afterwards, I met up with my roommates at Alpha for lunch. I enjoyed the chicken nuggets (A campus favorite) before heading to my next class of the day. Monday was a busy day as I went straight from class to cross country practice, where we all talked about our first days while going on a run together. We had dinner as a team at Westy Grille, and I had a steak burrito before heading back to my dorm for the night.

Tuesday:

Tuesday, my day started before the sun rose with a team workout. We got done with the workout around 6:30 a.m., so a group of us went to The River Coffee House. I got an iced latte and an egg and cheese sandwich. The River is one of several places in Winona Lake that takes flex dollars from students during the academic year. 

I headed over to my writing class before walking over to the MOCC for chapel, where we meet three times a week. I sat with my teammates, hearing a compelling speaker who preached from the Bible and worshiping along with the student-led band. Afterwards we all walked over to lunch together at Alpha. 

That evening, my teammates and I walked down to the lake to play volleyball, spike ball, and pickleball. It was a hot evening down by the beach, so I jumped in the water with a few other people to cool off after volleyball. We watched the sunset before walking back up to campus for the night.

Wednesday:

I woke up Wednesday morning ready to go to FYE for my morning lecture. I had more free time on Wednesdays, so some hallmates and I went out to play disc golf. The nine-hole course weaves through campus, and we had fun seeing people we knew as we played. 

Afterwards, I grabbed food from Westy Grille before heading over to the library to work on homework. I was nervous about carving out time for homework and studying, and missing out on fun events in my first year of college.

However, it was easier than I imagined to be able to sit down without distraction. There were definitely times I had to make a decision, but oftentimes I was able to work on homework with friends before we went and did something fun afterwards. 

After dinner, I walked over to the MOCC for the women’s volleyball game. My cross country team tried to attend every sports team’s events together. This specific game was against IWU in a really exciting match that IWU would eventually pull away in. It was all good, as afterwards we all went down to the social, the local ice cream shop, to end the night. 

Thursday:

Thursday I slept in a little before I began my day at Alpha dining for breakfast. After class and chapel, my hall, Indy Two, got lunch all together. I love that almost every day I was able to grab meals with entirely different groups of people. I was nervous having such different schedules from everyone that getting lunch could be difficult, but there were always people I knew to get lunch with every single day.

In the afternoon, I went to my class before heading to practice. After practice, there was a Redzone event at Miller Field for the Men’s soccer game. The game was exciting, and they were also handing out Texas Roadhouse rolls before kickoff. Our men’s team won in a thrilling finish, the student section was packed that night, and everyone talked about the game before slowly heading back to the dorms for the night.  

Friday:

Friday, I had an 8 a.m. as my last class of the week. After chapel, I grabbed Alpha food to go while getting ready for the first cross country race of my college career! I grabbed everything I needed– shoes, a singlet, snacks, and more, before heading to the GHAWC to catch the bus..

On the bus ride, I worked on homework until we arrived at the course. We raced our first meet, and the team did well; we got third! We raced a longer distance in college so I was nervous, but the team is incredibly supportive of each other. We were all able to have a good time before and afterwards. We got pasta catered to the course from Olive Garden. We all ate together with family and friends before loading everything back on the bus and heading home. We got back around 10 p.m., where I went to bed early for another run the next morning. 

Saturday:

Saturday morning started around 8 a.m. with a long run with the cross country team. We ran on a long winding gravel trail. It was a chilly morning, as trees on both sides of the trail provided shade for almost the entire run. I ran 12 miles, and after everyone was done, we went to get coffee as a team at a local coffee shop. 

Back at Grace College, I got brunch served at Alpha before leaving again to meet friends down at the Winona Lake Park to play pickleball. It’s only a walk from the dorms, and tournaments and events are hosted there during the first semester every year. 

That evening, there was an opening week event at Beta Field. Right in the middle of campus, with food trucks, games, live drawings, and free t-shirts being handed out. I got a few chicken tacos from one of the food trucks, and they were really good. I walked around with a couple of friends to see  everything  going on, while bumping into more friends. We played volleyball on the grass and then spike ball as the sun went down. Lastly, we all grabbed a Ben and Jerry’s pint of ice cream from Jazzbucks before heading back to Indy for the night. 

Sunday:

I walked over to the MOCC. This first week, they offer a church service on campus that a lot of students and their families attend. I found some people I know right away and sat down; it’s a great service, and I walked over to Alpha for lunch right after. 

The rest of my Sunday, I reset for the week, working on homework, laundry, and cleaning my dorm room. I decided to make this a tradition, to  dedicate a few hours to this every week so as not to get behind or start feeling stressed about having to do it mid-week. I met my friends at the fire pit outside Kent Apartments for a bible study. After the bible study and sitting around talking for a while, we all went our separate ways to get ready for the next week. 

As you can see, a single week from the fall semester brings so much to do, people to meet, and fun to be had. What often feels overwhelming and busy eventually transitions into a routine you have created with good people. 

During your first year of college, there are so many opportunities to get involved. However your week looks, there are chances to get involved in your hall, school, and community. Discover more fun activities you can join in on or learn more about Grace here.