Below are fourteen things I wish someone would have told me before my freshman year at college. I hope you'll find some of this advice useful!
1. Find a good group of friends and stick with them... all the time.
At
first, everyone will be your friend, but the honeymoon phase won't last for
long; eventually, your differences will catch up with you, and every day
becomes every week becomes once a month.
Try to seek out people early on in the semester who share common
interests and ideals, so you won't be left high and dry later on.
2. Learn to "Let it Go."
"Let
it Go" from Frozen became the anthem of many over the past year. Despite how stale this Disney hit might be
growing, it does serve as an important reminder not to be bothered by things
you can't control. Failed a test? Lost your keys? Got woken up at 2:00 in the morning the day
of your Physics exam because some idiot decided he likes his popcorn on
fire? Whatever the case, let it go.
3. Establish routines, but break them every so often.
Routines
are crucial; they'll get you to class on time, ensure that your homework gets
done, keep your belly full, and secure a reasonable number of hours to sleep,
but feel free to stray from them on occasion.
We're all creatures of habit, but, once in a while, it feels good to
stay up late talking or skip a meal to Skype someone you care about.
4. Bring shower shoes.
There
isn't much to say about this. When more
than twenty guys share four showers, you want the water to be the only thing in
that bathroom that touches your skin.
5. Don't be a moron.
This
tip was originally entitled "Don't drink," but I know you won't
listen to that. If you're going to make
the mistake of paying too much money to break the law, act like an idiot, and
make a mess that your best friend will inevitably find himself cleaning up,
that's your prerogative, but use the brain that got you here. My advice: don't drink, but if you're
absolutely convinced that you need your "social lubricant" to have a
good time, then keep the door shut and the noise down. I did not enjoy finding vomit in our water
fountain because someone couldn't make it to the bathroom. I did not enjoy calling 911 for a friend who
was begging to go the hospital. I did
not enjoy being kept up on Thursday nights because Friday and Saturday aren't
enough. Think not only about how your
choices will affect you but about how they will affect the people around you.
6. Check Ratemy.
Ratemyprofessor
is an important tool when signing up for classes. A professor can make or break a class, and,
though the majority of instructors at this college are outstanding, some are
easier, more lenient, and more informative than others. Decide what you're looking for in a professor
and register for classes accordingly.
7. Don't eat at Sadler.
Next
year, we're getting "different dining options," but if the following
year is anything like the last one, forego the horrible layout and subpar food
that you'll find at the Sadler Center and head over to the Caf for every meal
you use a swipe on.
8. Do homework with friends, but study alone.
This
practice will get you far. Homework is
the classwork that you'll never do. That
is to say: in high school, you were probably allotted time in class to do
practice problems, write essays, read articles, etc... In college, you come in, sit down, take notes
on the lecture, and leave. Homework is
rarely graded, and classwork is never assigned.
For these reasons, I suggest that you treat your homework like classwork
and struggle through it with a friend, then, when it comes time to prepare for
an exam, tackle the material yourself with the knowledge and perspective that
you gained from working with a friend already under your belt.
9.Get a Spotify.
Spotify
playlists will make your studying more bearable, your homework more doable, and
your hanging out more enjoyable.
10. Balance your schedule.
Don't
take four literature classes. They're
time sinks. Don't take four math
classes. Their tests will crush
you. Don't take four science
classes. The homework will break
you. Balance your schedule using the
following general rules as your guide: English classes eat up your time by
forcing you to read lots and lots of stuff that you're never truly tested on
but have to know; math classes often
don't suck up very much time outside of class unless you're a complete homework
Nazi (I'm looking at you, Ciera), but the tests require more preparation than
any other field; science classes have the most difficult homework assignments
because they usually count towards your grade, so you have to do well on them; general
education classes just suck, but you have to take them, so find the easiest
ones you can for each requirement.
11. Bring a mattress topper.
I don't
know why I was the only person at college who didn't have one of these, but it
was definitely a mistake. Bring
something to drape over the rock that the housing department calls a bed.
12. Don't do things you don't want to do.
This is
not high school. You don't have to join
a bunch of stupid clubs for your college application. This is college; it's a time to "find
yourself," or whatever, so don't do a bunch of stuff that you don't want
to. Try stuff out, but, if you hate it,
quit. There's no sense being miserable
for no reason.
13. Don't waste your time.
This is
similar to the previous idea, but it's less about not being miserable and more
about not being stupid. Don't sleep all
day. Don't skip your classes. Don't waste your time. It's okay to invest in things that you enjoy
outside of class, but it's not okay to forsake your classes to invest in those
things. Get up, get your classes out of
the way, do your homework, then kill some time doing whatever it is that you
like to do.
14. Check your email.
I
should have made this number one, but I don't want to change the numbers on
everything. College staff, professors,
and classmates will all reach out to you through email; everyone has one and
it's accessible twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week at the touch of a
button. You don't want to miss out on
opportunities because you "didn't get that email."
I hope
there was some useful information in this blog.
Feel free to email me, Facebook me, or post a comment if you have any
questions about the campus, college life, or anything at all. Welcome to the Tribe, and enjoy your summer.
