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" I finished my first semester of college! I&amp;#039;m throwing out loose papers, cleaning out my binders, selling my books, packing my bags, and preparing to head back to Ohio for winter break. It feels right to spend at least one short blog reflecting on my first semester at Barnard-a semester full of great times and lonely times, hilarious stories and lots of hard work.  For some reason there&amp;#039;s this common idea floating around that the friends you make first semester of freshman year are made out of convenience; you don&amp;#039;t REALLY like them, they just happen to be on your floor or in your classes, and so you desperately cling to the people that you kind of, sort of like. Luckily, at least from my experiences, I&amp;#039;m able to dispel that myth. My closest friends and I have grown into a group that&amp;#039;s based on a genuine understanding of one another: we care about each other, talk about real issues, have each other&amp;#039;s backs, laugh together, cry together, and spend WAY too much time sitting in the hall late at night eating cupcakes together. I wish for everyone the kind of friends I&amp;#039;ve been lucky enough to find! In addition to the social stress that accompanied my pre-college craziness, before I left I found myself spending a lot of time worrying about my academics: Could I keep up? Did my high school prepare me? Is everyone here going to be brilliant? While I&amp;#039;ve had my fair share of intellectual insecurity, I want to ease your worries by letting everyone know that college, academically, is a natural transition from high school. Yes, there&amp;#039;s more work, and yes, your professors will expect more from you, but with proper preparation, a good attitude, a willingness to open your mind, and organization, I think that you&amp;#039;ll feel successful in college. You might not get a 4.0 (because I can promise you that I didn&amp;#039;t!), but you&amp;#039;re probably not going to fail out, either.  Finally, I&amp;#039;m happy to report that things are wonderful (as always) with Ben. I was so worried about the massive transition our relationship was bound to undergo, but we adapted naturally, fairly smoothly, and, most importantly, together. Things are great, so don&amp;#039;t doubt the possibility of continuing a successful relationship in college!  I hope this little &amp;quot;state of the student&amp;quot; update was both informative and interesting; thanks for sticking with me through my first semester in college! Do you have any questions? Fears? Disagreements? Heard any good jokes lately? As always, tell me what&amp;#039;s on your mind! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.seventeen.com/life/school/advice/a26886/rachel-1217/>