By Jared Fields, Managing Editor

When I was a freshman, I thought life was tough. Some days I couldn’t take naps, and I had to write a couple of research papers. Since then, I’ve learned some lessons I want to pass down.

The freshman class has survived for three weeks now on it’s own, and its time it started to figure it out.

Ignorance and naivety quickly gave way to being young and not knowing everything. So I’m here to help all those freshmen in the ignorance and naivety department, if they even know what the Optimist is yet.

My first bit of knowledge I would like to drop on you is this: it’s not that hard to slide your card at Chapel.

I know you may not believe me, but you can slide your card before the light goes off. And it helps if you don’t slide it as quick as you can. Slow and steady wins the race in this situation.

But this alone does not get you credit; you have to slide again when Chapel’s dismissed. Here’s what happens when Chapel ends. Shane Hughes, or a Chapel official, swipes a card when you are officially dismissed. If you slide before that, you don’t get the credit. I love watching people leave early who think they will get credit.

I also want to take some preventative measures to save freshmen embarrassment when the weather cools down. Your high school letter jackets may have been cool at your high school, but as you might notice, we’re not in high school anymore, Dorothy. The same goes for your class rings.

For all of you sports fans out there, a freshman wearing a high school letter jacket looks like a pro athlete bragging about what he did in college-it doesn’t matter.

Last of all, don’t be too cool for school. This may sound hypocritical coming from what I’ve just said, but be open up to those around you. Like I said, it’s not high school anymore, so no one cares about what you think or do. Let your guard down a little, have some fun and see what happens.

Let your freshman year be the time you enjoy. It’s the college equivalent of kindergarten. You get to take easy classes, hang out with friends, play a sport or two and take naps any afternoon you want.

I remember those days; just don’t tell upperclassmen about them. We don’t want to be reminded of all the free time you have.