“Life is short. We should learn to live in the moment and not waste our time rehashing the past.”

“I’ve learned that you can’t do it on your own."

"Why bother doing something if it isn't making you happy?"

College classrooms are important places for learning. After all, people do attend college to receive an education. However, that education does not have to solely occur in the classroom. The quotes above are anonymous quotes from other college students who shared what they have learned outside the classroom. Although each of us is involved in different things and has different experiences, we all learn from our respective experiences.

For me, the college world has taught me things from how to clean a bathroom to what true friendship means. Beyond the classroom, I immediately needed some life skills while living away at school. I must say, I was lucky with my parents taking care of these things while I lived at home. When I got to college I had to learn how to use a toilet brush, how often to clean, and how to do laundry. Eventually, I started learning how to cook a few different meals. Although I had some assistance from friends and preparatory lessons from my mom, I had to learn to apply this knowledge myself. I also found that I needed to call in a few of my own doctors’ appointments, meet delivery people myself for food orders, and plan my own complicated schedule. These lessons in adulting, as we college students call it, are only some of the many I encountered.

Much of what I have learned in college has not been solely these types of skills, though. At school, we all come from different backgrounds and life experiences. Some people are commuters and some residents, some are in more artistic majors and others scientific ones, and some are interested in outdoorsy activities while others in video games and cartoons. We come from a variety socioeconomic backgrounds and would all check different boxes on demographic surveys, but we all come together to receive our educations. What took me longer to realize was that just being with these different people was an education itself. Everyone has the chance to recreate themselves in college, to figure themselves out and express that as they wish. The people around me have been open in sharing their stories and allowing me to understand what makes them who they are. Being around so many different people has enabled me to become a more understanding person and to become more open myself.

Perhaps one of the greatest things college has taught me is the importance of happiness. College is hard and I am sure life beyond college is hard. Sometimes that can start to weight on us. My first semester of college proved to be more challenging than I expected. Even after that, I faced difficult times full of frustration and self-doubt. While spending much of my life planned hour by hour and practically living in the library, I discovered that I needed to do things that made me happy. College provided me with events full of new things to try and old things to try again such as paint nights, roller skating, and cupcake decorating. I decided that it was worth taking time out of my schedule to do things that would make me happy. To cope with stress, I found new hobbies such as drawing and painting and I picked up my writing again. After speaking with those around me, I was able to worry less about perfection in these things and more about having fun. Additionally, I realized that not everything has to be so serious. Joining the track team and a choral group in college showed me that there are many other people who are serious and talented around me and that sometimes being too serious and worried about being the best will remove the fun from it. My participation in these extracurriculars full of all the other “big fish” from high schools, helped me to be a little less serious and let myself have a little more fun. At the end of the day, a list of achievements is not worth much if I wasn’t happy earning them.

I’ve heard it said that the college world is not real and we, college students, should not become so immersed in it. Whether you hold that belief or not, it is undeniable that students learn while existing in this world. The life skills, new level of understanding, and happiness I have found in college are certainly worth the time I have spent here. To whatever degree you may choose to immerse yourself in the college world, I hope you and those around you can understand that it is a valuable opportunity to receive an education in your major/minor and in your life. The experiences I have had in both, have combined to provide me with priceless knowledge and personal growth.