Every year, freshmen come to UF's campus during the fall eager to get their college experience started. There are certain trends that freshmen always try out when they first arrive on campus, so we've put together a list of fashion dos and don'ts for your first semester.
1. On the first day of classes, there will always be freshmen walking around campus wearing a loud mixture of orange and blue Gator gear. Hats, belts, shorts, hoodies, hair accessories, shirts, key chains and even socks - you name it, they're wearing it. All at once.
Don't fall into this habit. Show your pride when it's rightfully wanted. Leave the heavy Gator garb for football games, basketball games and FSU's homecoming pep rally - any place where you can exclaim to the high heavens that you are a Gator. It's not that we don't appreciate a cool Gator shirt on campus - just stick to jeans and a shirt, though.
2. Having an IRHA lanyard is a dead giveaway. Having one around your neck means you're living on campus, which most likely means you're a freshman. Leave them where they belong: in a drawer or on your mom's key chain. So what will you do about your key card? Buy a wallet if you don't have one already, and keep it in there. The key cards will work through your wallet!
3. Ladies, invest in a towel dress if you're living on campus. This may not be a fashion tip, but it's a definite necessity. You never know when the fire alarm might go off. If you're in the shower, having a towel dress will guarantee that you're not standing in a crowd of your peers trying to clutch onto a skimpy towel, fearing a body part might make an appearance.
4. Backpacks that were made for camping adventures should not be used for classes. They're bulky and impractical. Your freshman load of courses should not require you to constantly drag all of your textbooks up and down Museum Road. If you're going to be studying 24/7, check out your textbook from the library and give your back a break. By the end of your freshman year, you're either going to have a budding case of scoliosis or begin to develop the curvature of Gollum's back. We all know how attractive that can be.
5. There are freshmen who stroll though Preview wearing their high school accomplishments as trophies. Don't be one of those. No one here cares about what you did in high school. Once you're a Gator, your slate is wiped clean and you can start from scratch. It may be hard to part with your keepsakes from high school, but that's a surefire way of telling that you may not be able to let go of who you were back then. You're in college now. Embrace it. Join other clubs on campus. Create new memories for yourself here, and let go of the varsity jacket that smells like your old locker room.
