During my time in high school, I never imagined myself on a college campus, I assumed I was going to be overseas fighting for my country. As fate, would have it, this would not be the case. Due to the circumstances of my situation, I was not eligible to start college in the fall so, I started a semester late. Now, there is a huge difference between starting in the fall and in the spring semester, which I will get to later, but always be on alert in a new environment.

When I look at college now, I see it as a playground of an unlimited possibilities, and every student should take advantage of that. I have learned a thing or two in my semester at college and I hope my experiences can translate into positive lessons that will be learned and applied through life. This one seems like a freebie, it is probably the most cliché statement that I have ever heard throughout my educational life, study hard. This is something you hear every day from your parents at the age of five, to your professor lecturing you in regards to an upcoming test. The term “study hard” is overused and tends to not rub of on students. I ask everyone to try and take it to heart. The harder you study in college, the better off you will be in life. Do not get into the habit of procrastination, it only hurts the busy college student. Getting involved on campus is equally important. After all, college is a great time to build up the resume, so take advantage of that. Find come clubs you are interested in or start your own and run with it. In addition, I think taking chances and having an open mind go hand in hand. As a basic rule of thumb, if it draws your interest go to it. If you love it, then run with it, If you do not like it, be happy you were bold enough to take that chance and keep your eyes open and look for new opportunities.

It is hard not to imagine the perfect roommate while you are anxiously waiting to leave the boundaries of your home and leap into a new and creative environment. You may desire someone who has similar interests, gets along with you and goes out but this is not always realistic. Having roommates isn’t always the easiest thing in the world, but being adaptable is necessary in this situation. When I say this, keep in mind that most college atmospheres are diverse and accompany many different personalities and people come in all different shapes and sizes. Just have an open mind to your roommates and get to know them. I say this not because I had awful roommates, we got along well, but we all have heard stories of bad roommates.

Starting a semester late was an interesting experience to say the least. In my personal experience, starting late is difficult. It offers many disadvantages that I did not see as an anxious kid waiting to get out of the house. When the fall semester starts, and the new freshmen come in, there are so many new nervous faces waiting to make friends. However, in the spring, numbers are smaller and incoming sophomores and juniors are often coming in because of credits they have earned at community college or university. In orientation, the freshmen play a lot of games to get to know each other. That was not the case for the spring orientation, it was more straight forward. I would like to add that, starting in the spring isn’t the worst thing in the world. After my first semester, I was accepted to a study abroad program in Europe, a double major, play on the rugby team, second delegate for the College Republicans and I have plans on starting two clubs in the following years. I was fortunate to have some good friends by my side through the semester to help me out and I am grateful for that.

College is a time to try new things, open your mind and challenge yourself. It is a time to challenge old thoughts and ideas with new ones and to engage oneself to a more sophisticated level of thinking. Wherever the path of life leads you, always have your head up, never give up and try new things.