5 Learnings From My First Year of College

Navigating freshman year with a disability (spoiler: the hardest part is starting)

This post is written by Disabled& guest contributor, Hannah Gallivan

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It’s here. The start of a new semester.

And I find myself reflecting on where I was this time last year: a newly graduated high school senior with no idea what was coming my way. What I did know was that I was moving 15 hours away from home and knew nobody. I also knew that where I was going was accessible (this was a game changer for me).

As a person with cerebral palsy, access is something that runs through my brain constantly.

So when it came time to apply for colleges, finding a university that could support me physically was really important. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign¹ has truly given me all of that and more, including the freedom to focus on being a college student first and a disability advocate second.

As I think about my first year college, there are some things that I’ve learned that I want to share with any incoming disabled college students and their support systems:

1. Know what your resources are. This is a big one. Knowing who to go to if I needed help was key. Daily things like making sure I had accessible desks in my classrooms, lifts to different floors of buildings, and coordinating personal care assistants were all very new to me. I wouldn’t have felt as confident in figuring them out if not for meeting these people ahead of the school year. Having resources is so helpful for independence, and knowing where to find them is usually half the battle.

   
   Pro tip: When I was on the college hunt, I made an effort to visit each prospective school’s disability services office. This allowed me to meet people hear about their programs face to face, and ultimately played a big role in my choice to attend the school I ended up at.

2. Try things you’ve never done before. When I got to college, I knew there would be a lot of new experiences. Still, I was hesitant to do things by myself in those first weeks. Even taking the campus bus seemed like a risk: would I get stranded somewhere? Would I know where to go or who to call? I quickly realized that everyone wants to be helpful. And, once I’d done it a couple of times, it wasn’t so bad. Before I knew it, I was flying home for breaks on my own and taking the Amtrak to Chicago to visit a friend. These were all things I had never done on my own before. It was so empowering to know that I was capable of new challenges, and as a result, the world now feels so much more open to me.
   

3. Don’t be afraid to be a new version of yourself. This doesn’t mean reinventing yourself completely, but chances are, you’re probably going to be a little different than you were in high school. Lean into that! I made lots of friends and connections that I didn’t expect or that didn’t feel like the people I would “normally” hang out with. That’s the beauty of being in a new place with new people. I got to learn a lot about different people and myself in the process, and I’m so happy with the new friends I’ve made.
   

4. It’s okay to have no idea what you’re doing. When you’re in college, lots of people ask about your plans for the future. I often feel a lot of pressure to have everything figured out: the resumes, the internships, the five year post-grad plan. The thing is, no one really knows what they’re doing. College is where we start to figure that out, but nothing is concrete. Many friends in my circle have changed their major, found something they loved more than they thought, or still haven’t set up a LinkedIn profile yet (who has?). No one truly expects you to be good at being an adult, or know exactly what you’re doing all the time.

5. Everyone is in the same boat. THIS ONE. It’s easy to feel like you’re the only one going through a messy little cocktail of feelings and new experiences, but you’re not alone. Everyone is hoping to make friends, find people to walk to class with, go be invited to a party. Even after freshman year, it can feel strange, exciting and nerve wracking to go back. Join a study group to keep yourself accountable, find friends who’ll walk to class with you, or try out a new club. You never know what you might end up loving!

Whether you're heading into your first year of college or are simply navigating new terrain as someone with a disability, I hope you find these tips helpful and remember to breathe through this time. It’s a huge change, and with that comes a lot of new feelings, but hopefully you’ll be ready to rock this semester!

Happy move-in :)

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Hannah Gallivan is a college student and aspiring filmmaker. She has cerebral palsy and loves hanging out with her friends and service dog, Gabby. Find her @hannahgallivan.

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1. Cover image sourced from juniper.net