The one cliché that everyone always tells you about college is that the transition into it is hard. No more home cooking, having your own schedule and responsibilities–oh, and juggling a full course load, your social life, clubs and organizations, a job, working out, keeping in touch with people from back home, calling your mom, branching out and living with a roommate. It is a lot, and I thought that I realized this when I moved into my residence hall in August.
This year has been equal parts difficult and easy, freeing and overbearing, all the while being fun and totally boring. College (and adulthood, I guess) is a rollercoaster and that is the part of the adjustment process that no one tells you about.
Here are some lessons that I learned my first year at FSU. Hopefully, you’ll learn from them too, or at least come into this crazy world of adult-ing with a bit more knowledge than I did.
Make time for yourself.
This seems so obvious and super easy but as the semester picks up speed, time will become more of a commodity and you’ll find yourself not having a lot of time to sit down for a minute and catch your breath. The easiest way to make time in your busy life is to adhere to a schedule. Mark half an hour to an hour of your daytime for you to decompress. Maybe this means taking yoga (the classes at the Leach are rad and free) or watching something on Netflix. Once you slow down for a minute, you’ll be refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the day.
Courtesy: Giphy
Don’t be a yes-woman.
An organization needs volunteers for an event? Your friends want to go get dinner? A classmate wants to make a study group?
Commitments tend to pile up, conflict and then ultimately stress you out. This was a huge problem for me this year. If you’re anything like me (aggressively type A), you’re going to want to be up to your ears in involvement. While this can be sustainable for a while, it is very difficult to stick to an extremely committed schedule once other factors get thrown in that you can’t control. I was sick with strep throat for a week in November and I couldn’t go to class (which I had every day), attend any meetings or do anything at all. It was hard to play catch-up, especially with approaching finals. The moral of this story is this: pick a few things to do that you really love and don’t be afraid to say no.
Courtesy: Giphy
Talk to your roommate if you have any issues.
Again, this seems obvious, but if you and your roommate have any issues, it is best to talk about them before it’s halfway through the semester and you’re STILL aggravated that she won’t ever take out the trash. My roommate and I ran on literally opposite schedules and it was difficult for both of us to coordinate in a way that worked for both of our lives. This led to a great deal of frustration on my end, especially when it was midnight and I had an eight a.m. in the morning. Even if you hate confrontation, find ways to politely and un-passive aggressively bring your roommate’s attention to things and talk to her if you really have an issue with something. 99.9 percent of the time, she will be willing to compromise.
Don’t overthink things.
This will increase your stress level exponentially. If the “everything happens for a reason” approach isn’t your style, just remember to breathe. You got this.