Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.

As this newspaper lies on the thick wooden desk of the room you’re about to call home for the next nine months, and your life’s mementos sit stacked in boxes and suitcases on the thinly carpeted floor — maybe hardwood, if you’re one of the lucky ones — there may be a whole lot more on your mind than trying to unpack before that dinner reservation. 

Whether you live 30 minutes down the road or had your belongings shipped from across the country, one thing is for sure: You’re in college now. The days of in-home laundry, daily home-cooked meals and waking up in your childhood bedroom are over — for the time being. Perhaps you’ve heard that things are about to get a lot better or a lot worse; either may be true, but don’t let your expectations hinge on a couple old sayings.

Right now is the time to think about all the bad decisions you’ll make, which is what this article is about. Just kidding. But truthfully, along with death and taxes, messing up is a guaranteed aspect of life; it may start when you are a child, but it certainly doesn’t stop when you receive a high school diploma.

There’s a reason each dorm hall has what is, essentially, a babysitter on each floor; many of your peers have not yet learned how to be quiet past 11 p.m. on a Monday or cook food in the microwave without starting a fire. Of course, dorm antics exist on every college campus in America, which is why the internet has no shortage of stories.

However, more importantly than those boxes on the floor and your ability to cohabitate is the difference you will make in the classroom and on campus. Although, the advice disseminated to prospective first-year students can feel overwhelming: “Get involved in August or September; say yes to everything; talk to people in your classes; stand out to professors; eat healthy; focus on your grades; maintain a healthy social life; look for jobs sooner than later.”

Despite the months you may have taken to mentally prepare for this four-year adventure in Fort Collins, starting a new chapter in a new place and doing so while on the hunt for real friends, good grades, tailored involvement and a respectable job is impractical and unnecessary. Many people don’t attain all of those things until their junior or senior year of college, as it takes time to both build a resume that attracts sustainable work opportunities and develop reliable friendships.

So what about those more legitimate mistakes and mess-ups? Say, if you were out on a Friday night and charged with a minor in possession offense? What about if you end up on academic watch or probation at the end of the fall semester? No one plans for these kinds of incidents, but acknowledging the rates at which they happen among 18-year-olds may provide clarity as to why they occur.

The first year of college will introduce you to situations you never could have dreamt up and dump you in murky waters you’ve never had to swim in. The best part? You’re far from alone, between the hundreds of thousands of other college first-years around the country and the Rams who have come before you and made the same mistakes.

Perhaps you’ve heard it 40 times already, but that’s because it’s entirely honest: This is the best time to mess up. At few other points in your life will you have complete autonomy over yourself while simultaneously having the support of an over 34,000-student university with resources to pull you back up each time you sink.

Colorado State University exists to serve you, so use it to figure out exactly what it is you are meant to do. Fall down as many times as you need to in order to discover where you belong and what will make you successful. College is not a race to see who pieces their life together the quickest.

Your first year at CSU marks a pivotal transition to the next period of your life — one filled with new people, relationships, obstacles, passions and opportunities you won’t encounter without taking the leap. But hey — maybe it’s mom or dad or another guardian to a new Ram reading this story. If so, could you pass along the message?