Former NH students and members of Cry of the Hawk staff, Lauren Palmieri and Lizzie Catrambone are getting a whiff of what it’s like to be a freshman all over again, but now, in college.  

     Palmieri, a freshman at Susquehanna University, states that one thing that has helped her a lot is being super friendly to everyone and signing up for different clubs. “It’s not too bad because I’m surrounded by people who are all going through the same thing as me. It’s nice because everyone is willing to help with anything as long as you ask.”  

     Palmieri states that the worst part of being a freshman all over again is finding her way around and practically getting lost trying to find classes the first few days. She states that making friends wasn’t too hard since you’re around people all the time. She also says she has kept up with her high school best friends so far. “They are my favorite people and we keep in touch via facetime and text,” Palmieri explains.  

    “I’m majoring in ecology and minoring in psychology,” Palmeri says. “College is a lot more schoolwork and independence and a great way to meet tons of new people with similar interests.” She also says that she misses the extra time teachers gave her for help in high school, but college has way more flexible schedules available to students.  

     Lizzie Catrambone is a freshman and attends the University of Maryland. Lizzie, who is majoring in kinesiology, hopes to become a physician’s assistant specializing in orthopedics’ medicine. Catrambone says that “having my sister and close friend Hunter Meisz here with me has helped a ton. It was super nice being able to have a person or two to make a very strange and new place feel a little more like home.”  

     She also states that being a freshman again has led her to meet a ton of new people through clubs and classes and build new friendships while still having friends from home with her. Lizzie has kept up with her hometown friends despite their ‘crazy different schedules.’ The friends text through a group chat and hang out over holiday breaks as much as possible.  

     Catrambone states that the adjustment is hard, but it gets better. She says, “For me, being away from home will never feel normal, but it’s all about finding what will make you the happiest in life.”  

     According to Catrambone, the worst part about being a freshman again is having to adjust to something new. “You get adjusted to high school life during those four years then you must adjust to something completely different for another four years,” she continues, “It’s difficult to make such a drastic change in your life.”  

     “I definitely have the same struggles now as I did in the beginning of high school,” Catrambone says. 

     She states that the biggest difference between high school and college is the freedom and schedule. “In high school all your classes are the same length, six minutes between classes, and lunch in the middle of the day. In college, it’s completely different. Some days I have four classes and some days I only have one,” she explains.  

     She also says that some days her classes are back-to-back and some days she has hours between her classes, leaving enough time to go out to eat, hang out with friends, and go to the gym.