Monday, April 13, 2015
Wrap Up | Freshman Year In A Nutshell
comic from slugbooks.tumblr.com
Wow, it's been a while. Probably too long. I think sometimes we let our crazy lives get in the way of things that we enjoy, and in some cases, need. So here I am, back at blogging!
My first year of college is almost over. It's crazy to think that only a year ago I was still in high school receiving my college acceptance, and rejection, letters and preparing for this scary new lifestyle. Through social media I've seen a lot of my high school friends going through this same transition. Getting ready for prom and grad night, then before you know it, you'll be walking through the campus of your new, much larger school with the same butterflies I had in my stomach on my first day of college.
Let me start this by breaking down a few myths I heard throughout high school about how terrifying college would be. College is not scary. College is actually a LOT better than high school. Your professors will not lock their doors the second class starts, your professors will care about you and your success, maybe even more than some of the teachers you had in high school. If you miss one class session, you will not fail, and often times if you just email your professor and explain the situation, they will either email you the lecture or summarize what you missed in class. Moving out of your parent's house will be terrifying, there will be times when you feel like you can't do it, and there will be times when you are so homesick that it hurts.
Now that you know all of that, you can take a deep breath, because it will be okay. It's been a year and I have survived every second of it. It wasn't easy though. A lot of people don't understand that this time in our lives is supposed to be difficult. There are going to be days when you have breakdowns. There are going to be nights where you are drowning in homework. You might fail a test, and you may even fail a class. You can't beat yourself up about these things though. These four years are for learning about something you love, and for learning about yourself. All you can do is learn from your mistakes and try not to make them again.
I may only be wrapping up my first year of college, but I do have some advice for incoming freshman, or even people on campus in general that have not learned these things already.
- Make sure that you involve yourself in social situations on campus. I chose to not live in the dorms my freshman year, and this made it a lot harder for me to get involved and make new friends on campus. Consider joining Greek life, ASI, or even something as simple as a book club on campus. Just do something to make your time there worthwhile.
- Don't be afraid to participate in class discussions. Engage with your peers. If you are not interested in a subject, teach yourself to be interested in it. Posing questions or comments in any lecture will make your learning experience that much better.
- Visit your professors office hours. Whether this is because you are stuck on something you learned in class, or simply because you want to get to know them better, visiting them on your own time shows them that you care about your success in their class and will give them a better look on the kind of person and student you are.
- Don't force yourself to choose a major right away. If you are unsure about what you want to study, enter college as undeclared. Taking general education classes can often spark an interest in something that you were unaware you enjoyed. If you begin to study with one major and decide you want to switch, talk to an advisor. Make sure that your credits will transfer over smoothly to ensure a shorter road to your degree.
I'm happy to be blogging again, and hope this post shed a little light on what to expect in college, as well as inform you how my first year went.
Until next time,
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