Food for Thought: College

Starting out your freshman year of college is its own kind of stress. There are immense amounts of changes taking place all around you. You’re no longer living with your parents, eating your mom’s home cooked meals, or even waking up in your own bed. You’re thrown out into the world, attempting to conquer it, whether you’re ready or not. All responsibilities are put on you; you’re in complete control of your own life. No one is telling you what you can and can’t do. Go to class, or don’t. Study for that exam next week, or don’t. You could stay out until 4 in the morning on a Tuesday night, and it could make no difference to those around you. This is the only time when your life is truly in your hands. There are a lot of decisions that need to be made within a matter of seconds and all sorts of pressure all around you. Since I’ve started college, I’ve already encountered difficult, uncomfortable, and stressful situations. Some tips I’ve tried to keep in mind while in school include these:

    1.   Stay True to Yourself: Don’t let someone try to change what you stand for or what you think is right or wrong. You should never change yourself to try to fit in or to create relationships with others. If you want to make true friends in college, be yourself and don’t try to impress anyone by altering yourself to fit in. You hear that college changes people no mater what, which is true. But it is us who will determine whether if it is for the better and to help us grow or not.

   2.  Stay Close to Those Who Care About You: I can’t stress enough how important it is to maintain healthy relationships with your friends and family from back home. Those are the people who want you to succeed and were there for you before you went through the dramatic changes of college. This means call your mom more often and text your friends to ask them about their day. 

   3.  Keep Your Priorities Straight: Make sure you keep in mind what’s important and the main goal you are trying to achieve from being in college. Basically just do your work, study, and show up to class. You’ll thank yourself later if you do.

   4.  Keep an Open Mind: Don’t limit yourself to a certain group of friends or specific activities to get involved with. Don’t get me wrong, keep that close-knit friend group, but try to create more friends and associate with all types of people. You’ll be glad you met and became close with some of the people you never thought you would have been in the first place.

  

    5.  Enjoy your Time in College: Everyone tells me that these are the best four years of your life, and I doubt they’re wrong. I’ve had an amazing time so far, and the experience is one of a kind. Savor every moment, because after you graduate, you’re going to wish you were right back where you are now.