College is a time of learning. Most think that students are just learning everything they will need to know for their future careers. While they are doing that, there is so much more that they learn about themselves, about others, and about life. College students are transitioning out of adolescence and into adulthood, their minds and their bodies are in the final stages of development, and many things are still had to be learned to be successful in all aspects of their adult lives. These are some of the things that college students learn outside of the classroom and away from their major.
1. You don't have your life all figured out (and that's okay).
About five minutes after graduating from high school with your diploma still in hand and cap on your head, you are expected to have your entire life mapped out and engraved in stone. Others expect you to know what you want to study and where, where you'd like to work in the future, when you want to get married, whether or not you would like to have children, et cetera. It feels as though you are never allowed to enjoy your successes, but rather start working toward your next goal immediately after finishing the first. In college, you'll soon realize that you do not have everything plotted out; and if you do, you'll realize how quickly things can change. You might change your major multiple times or maybe even transfer to a different school completely. But you will also realize that there is nothing wrong with that. You are allowed to change your mind and to make mistakes, because everyone else is too.
2. There is always going to be someone "better" than you.
In high school, you might have been the smartest, most artistic, and/or most athletic student of your class. But everyone in college did decently well in high school, that's how they made it into college in the first place. Where you were once the best at the thing that you loved, you are now surrounded by people who are just as smart and talented as you are, some inevitably even more so. You might land a well paying job in your desired field while still in college, and shortly after someone could come along and get an even higher paid position in the same field. But remember, yours and others success or lack thereof does not equal your worth; and you are only as successful as you think you are.
3. The grass is only greener where you water it.
With so much time dedicated to class, studying, homework, extracurriculars, and work, it sometimes feels difficult to even catch your breath. But one must remember to find time for the more important aspects of their lives for them to flourish. When swamped with your own troubles, it's easy to disconnect with family, friends, and most importantly yourself. You must remember to spend time each day for yourself- to take care of your physical, emotional, and mental health. It is also important to save time to call, text, or meet up with loved ones. Strong relationships require maintenance, though small, even if that means simply meeting up for coffee with your friends.
4. Failure is inevitable.
It does not matter how kind, smart, hardworking, or driven you are, you will fail; not always, but it will happen in your lifetime sooner or later. To try and escape failure can be compared to trying to escape death- you may try, but it will find you. But failure doesn't mean the end of the world. So you may have failed a test, gotten a lower GPA this semester than you wanted, or perhaps lost your job. But in those failures could spring the greatest of successes. Maybe being fired from your job led you to another opportunity that set you in the right direction for your future, providing you with experience and connections that you would have never gotten in your previous place of employment. Sometimes what we believe to be the end is merely the beginning. Always stay humble.
5. Everything can change in an instant.
As you get older, you are exposed to bigger, greater things. But in this time you are also exposed to more tragedy and grief than you could ever imagine. This tragedy reminds us of the opportunity to change things about ourselves and the world around us we don't like. In each day lies 1,440 minutes of decisions; decisions to be complacent with how our lives are now, no matter how much we may dislike it, or to change. One moment you may be working overtime at a job that you can't stand, and the next in a hospital bed wondering where your life went. Don't live your life on autopilot. Take control.
