The first word people might think of when they hear the word "college", is freedom. You think you are approaching the next season of your life...on your own. To me that meant: No parents, No rules, and No responsibilities. These things might be mostly true, but in college you have to begin to "adult". You are probably wondering, "What is adulting?" Adulting is what you have to do when you grow up. It is grocery shopping, taking your car to get its oil changed, and making your own doctors appointments. Mom and Dad are not there to do that for you anymore.These are a few things that you might want to know how to do before you go away to live on your own.
1. Laundry
This is a necessity. Whether you are 2 or 12 hours away from home, you will not want to drive home every weekend to do laundry, and you're parents won't want you to either...
2. Talk to Adults
You have to do this a lot in college, whether it is to a professor, people in financial aid, a boss, or a pharmacist. You will need how to effectively communicate with them 'In Person' without using the words "like" and "ummm".
3. Change a Tire
About twenty percent of adults have no idea how to change a tire. This is not just an important college lesson, but an important life lesson. Be the handy friend, or save yourself when AAA is going to take 5 hours before they can come fix your tire.
4. Cook Food Other than Popcorn
If you are in a dorm, you don't need this skill as much, but one day you will have a stove. Don't be the person who forgets to put water in their Easy Mac or is constantly burning their popcorn- you're better than that.
5. Make Appointments
From an appointment with your professor, to academic advising appointments. You will be making a lot of these, don't be scared they won't bite.
6. Balance Your Time
The further you get in college the more stuff you will have to do. Between lab reports,club meetings, campus jobs, and writing papers- the real challenge is to figure out how to do all of those things and still find time to nap.
7. Budget Your Money
Being a broke college kid is a real thing, you won't want to spend all your time working, but make sure to budget that money. Get a side hustle, check the couch for coins, or just make sure to save that Birthday money from your Grandparents. Something will come up and you won't want to have to get mom or dad to send you money.
8. Treat Yo Self
Self-care and a healthy school- social life balance can be hard to have as a Freshman. Sometimes you will get a bad grade on an exam, or maybe you're just having a bad day- either way you gotta remember to invest in the most important thing... YOU!
