First Gen college grads share your experiences

Being the first in my family to attend a 4 year college, I went into it knowing so little about college life, other than Animal House, I didn't know anything about college life! My parents didn't know about sending care packs, that I would need more than notebooks and pencils, that I would need food other than what the dorm cafeteria provided (they were closed Saturday at noon until 6pm Sunday). Looking back now (I graduated 2 decades ago) I realize how scary and out of my element I felt. My parents dropped me off that first day with some new bedding and towels, a few notebooks and pencils and instructions on how to make collect calls (yep we had payphones then!). I didn't know how to get change for the laundry machines, I had no idea what care packages were (my mother never sent any so no snacks or fun toiletries), I didn't have a credit card like my friends to charge incidentals and some Friday night pizza to. I had a workstudy job on campus that after taxes netted me $28 a WEEK! It didn't go far and I had to buy a bus ticket home on the weekends for $12 if I had arranged a babysitting gig at home. Books and supplies, without that parent funded credit card, I was stopped in my tracks trying to buy the needed supplies as a freshman, luckily I quickly found classmates who were willing to share supplies or a text book. Curious what other things you could share with someone who is or will be a first generation college student.