- Just because there are cinnamon rolls or waffles at breakfast everyday does not mean you should eat them every day. Try to keep the same habits you had at home, unless those were bad habits. In that case, change those.
- If you enjoy what you are studying and you are doing well at it, don’t change your major. By doing well and finding joy in that pursuit, it means that you probably have a gift in that area. Use it to the fullest.
- Do not limit yourself to one friend group. Branch out, meet other people, and then evaluate and re-evaluate your friend groups.
- Study more than you did in high school.
- But, don’t study more than you have to… a.k.a study smarter, not harder. Please do not be the person who takes ten hours to write a paper because they were distracted half the time by the people around them. Put in headphones or study in a quiet space.
- Make your habits your own. It will be easy to fall into your friend’s or your roommate’s schedule because then you do not have to plan anything. However, the moment their routine changes, you end up sitting in your room alone on a Saturday night because they could not go out with you. Do yourself a favor and follow your own schedule.
- Besides making your own schedule, make your own goals. Maybe your roommate is going for High Honors because they need to get into a Master’s program. Maybe their first job is less concerned with a high GPA. Whatever the case may be, form goals for yourself. Do not let others’ goals shape your own. Figure out what works best for you.
- On that note, join the activities that you want to join. Don’t just join everything because of the notoriety associated with busy-ness. Exhaustion without purpose is probably the quickest way to producing extreme unhappiness. In the words of Jon Bellion: “Cause the great expectations got all us imitating…we're secretly out of control and everyone knows.” I think he agrees that buying into the American workahloic mentality doesn’t do much good for anyone.
- If you are going into college single, stay single as long as possible. It is so fun to get to know people casually and not feel the pressure of being in a relationship. You are going to change and learn a lot about yourself, so give yourself the time to just chill and make good friends.
- In general, take good risks. Join a club that seems interesting, get to know your professors as people, or ask that interesting person to get a meal. Do not be afraid of being disappointed. If you take your chances for the sake of learning new lessons and are not obsessed with how it all relates back to you, then I promise you will grow immensely. Challenge yourself and watch how competent you can become at branching out.
Student LifeMay 30, 2017
What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Freshman Year
10 Tips to Make Freshman Year Great Again
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