Recommended for you

Start writing a post

Student Life

What I Learned My First Semester Of College

One semester down, seven more to go!

Virginia Martinez

Dec 20, 2016

Salem State University

What I Learned My First Semester Of College

Missouri Learning Standards

As my first semester comes to end, I would just like to reflect and share on the things that I learned at my new school. This was an experience I will never forget because it was the first one away from my close friends and a new school. It was a time for me to settle in, explore and try new things. It's a brand new feeling that is often described as "bittersweet".

1. College isn't always fun

2. Take some time for yourself

3. Get things done early

4. Stress may not be so temporary (kidding)

5. It's okay to step out of your comfort zone

6. Participate in class discussions

7. You will live in the library more than in your actual room

8. Stay up to date on your school's events, news, etc

9. You will meet people with similar goals as you

10. Dunk's is needed after a bad (pretty much every day)

11. You will be interested in things that never even crossed your mind before

12. It's okay to reconsider your major, change it or add another one

13. You will appreciate your independence

14. Always carry an umbrella

15. Your adult-ness will really be put to the test

16. Group projects should NOT exist

17. Some people will be on their Facebook during a lecture... Yup... What a waste of money.

18. The semester went by really fast!!!

19. Walking everywhere is equivalent to all the running I did in high school

20. Everything doesn't have to be perfect

21. BSing essays are still a thing

22. Use your time wisely and strategically

23. Let things be-- don't rush them to happen

24. Always have a backup plan of classes you want/need to take for the following semester

25. Take advantage of your resources at school

26. Some "college students" are immature and have a 10th grader mentality

27. Sweatpants, hoodies, and running shoes is the everyday apparel (at least for me)

28. Quizlet will be your first bookmark!

29. Your GPA is not everything!

30. Start making connections early so that you have more opportunities for the future

The most important thing I learned was not to let others tell me what I should major in. Study the things YOU want to study, major in what YOU want to major in, and follow YOUR on dreams, not someone else's dreams. At the end of the day, it is your education and you're the one getting the degree and aspiring to become _____ in the future.

Report this Content

This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.

Student Life

The 12 Stages Of Course Registration, As Told By "Friends"

No one best represents the struggle like our favorite 90s squad.

The State University of New York at Stony Brook

3441

YouTube

As college students, we are all familiar with the horror show that is course registration week. Whether you are an incoming freshman or selecting classes for your last semester, I am certain that you can relate to how traumatic this can be.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

Bonus points if it is more than two.

Keep Reading...Show less

registration

Featured

Economic Benefits of Higher Wages

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

Florida International University

301610

Illistrated image of people crowded with banners to support a cause

StableDiffusion

Raising the minimum wage to a livable wage would not only benefit workers and their families, it would also have positive impacts on the economy and society. Studies have shown that by increasing the minimum wage, poverty and inequality can be reduced by enabling workers to meet their basic needs and reducing income disparities.

I come from a low-income family. A family, like many others in the United States, which has lived paycheck to paycheck. My family and other families in my community have been trying to make ends meet by living on the minimum wage. We are proof that it doesn't work.

Keep Reading...Show less

Entertainment

13 Times April Ludgate Perfectly Explained College

Because who understands your bitterness better than April?

Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis

1389

Every college student knows and understands the struggle of forcing themselves to continue to care about school. Between the piles of homework, the hours of studying and the painfully long lectures, the desire to dropout is something that is constantly weighing on each and every one of us, but the glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel helps to keep us motivated. While we are somehow managing to stay enrolled and (semi) alert, that does not mean that our inner-demons aren't telling us otherwise, and who is better to explain inner-demons than the beloved April Ludgate herself? Because of her dark-spirit and lack of filter, April has successfully been able to describe the emotional roller-coaster that is college on at least 13 different occasions and here they are.

Keep Reading...Show less

april ludgate

Recommended for you

What I Learned My First Semester Of College

One semester down, seven more to go!

Subscribe to our Newsletter

No one best represents the struggle like our favorite 90s squad.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

2. When there is only one section of a popular course.

3. Receiving the 18,000 emails reminding you to register ASAP.

4. When you need to see an advisor, but they are too busy/unresponsive.

5. Trying not to dress like a bum for your appointments with your advisors/department heads.

6. When you have a perfectly planned out schedule, and one class ruins it.

7. Carefully moving things around to accommodate a different class/section.

8. Waking up at 6:00 a.m. for your enrollment time.

9. Concocting a new schedule at your enrollment time after your original plan gets changed.

10. Getting into a class and filling the last available seat.

11. When all of your classes finally go through.

12. Realizing that you forgot a class that was a pre-requisite for everything else.

When your capability of "adulting" is put to the test

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

"Nobody living in one of the most influential nations in the world should be worried about making ends meet."

What is the current minimum wage at the federal level?

What are the benefits of raising the minimum wage?

What are the states that have set a $15/hour minimum wage?

Told through Parks & Recreation GIFs

Because who understands your bitterness better than April?

1. When you have to provide an "interesting fact" for your first day ice-breaker.

2. When your professor is babbling on and on in his lecture.

3. When you edit your friend's paper and they get an A.

4. When it's 2 AM and you remember you have a test tomorrow.

5. When you finish taking the test and you're pretty sure you failed...

6. ...but then you get the test back and somehow passed.

7. When you've been up for 12 hours straight writing a paper.

8. And then you manage to stay awake in class the next day.

9. When you have to butter up your professor for an extra credit opportunity.

10. When you're assigned a group project.

11. And your group-mates are trying to chat about life instead of the assignment.

12. When it's your last class of the day and you're about to go home.

13. But then you remember rent is due tonight and the anger comes back.

Trending Topics

Top Creators

Trending Stories

Best of Student Life

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments

Subscribe to our
Newsletter