Welcome freshmen, to the best four years of your life.

We upperclassmen might glare at you, clutching your tiny Penn State map, when you run into us on campus, but secretly we're jealous that you are only just beginning what is inevitably going to be a fantastic four years.

Or if it's fun enough, maybe five.

I remember being so nervous before the start of my freshman year: Would the girls on my floor be nice? Would I get along with my roommate? Would my dorm room have enough space for me to lie horizontally on the floor?

Well they were, I didn't (another story for another time), and yes, it was actually a nice-sized room. However, I did not end up in East Halls, I found myself with a luxurious South Halls room instead.

I still can't believe that I am halfway through my college experience. Even though I have been taking classes during the summers since my freshman year in an effort to prolong the college experience, these two years have flown by, yet so many memories remain.

So, if I may, I would like to impart a bit of wisdom that I have learned in my years at Penn State.

First of all, don't schedule all your hard classes for the fall semester of your first year like I did. Taking a six-credit math class during my first semester in college was a poor choice and I definitely do not recommend it. There's no shame in easing into things and in retrospect, I wish I would have done just that.

Secondly, keep the door to your dorm room open when you are in your room during the first few weeks of the semester. People on your floor will come in and introduce themselves. The friends you make during your first year are likely the ones you will be hugging at graduation four years later.

You will never travel to the commons in a pack as often as you will during your first year.

Third, the gym is always crowded. Embrace it. Learn to love it.

Fourth, the cookies available in the West Commons are the best cookies on earth. Little pieces of heaven.

Fifth, get involved as soon as you can. One thing I regret is not being a part of the Daily Collegian right from the beginning of my freshman year. I think that getting involved on campus as early as possible is one of the best things you can do.

You will always hear people say how being involved in some sort of activity makes the campus seem so much smaller. There are so many people at Penn State, but it feels more like home when you see people you know all over campus and downtown.

Sixth, go out and have fun! Enjoy all that Penn State has to offer on the weekends and in your increasingly rarer free time. Have a dance party in your dorm room, lay on the HUB-Robeson Center lawn on nice days, play capture the flag in the quad in the evenings. Fact: Wearing war paint while playing will get you some pretty interesting looks.

Seventh, stuff your face with classic Penn State food as often as you can, because when you're away from State College, you'll miss it. This includes Creamery ice cream, Canyon Pizza and anything from The Waffle Shop.

Eighth, go to every home Penn State Football game and enjoy them while you can. You will quickly find that when the season is over, your Saturdays just aren't the same.

Freshman year goes by quickly, so the most important piece of advice I have is to take lots of time to slow down and enjoy it.