College can be hard to navigate at times. When do you go out, and when do you stay in to do your paper that it is due next week? As a sophomore who is halfway done with college (sigh), I don’t believe that I have all of the answers, as much as I would like to think that I do. So, I asked my sister who just graduated for a little help with some advice that any Hawkeye might need.
1. If all of your friends are going out, go with them.
You won’t regret a GNO, but you will regret missing making memories when you feel too lazy to get out of bed on a Thursday.
2. Don’t freak out over one grade.
Everyone has those tests that they just weren’t prepared for or whose brain just didn’t come to function that day. In the end, your future employer will not turn you away because you got a “D” on a test that was not even in your major.
3. Talk to your parents, often.
Though you might not miss them every second of the day, they definitely miss you. Text them when you think about them, let them know how thankful you are that they got you this far. It may not seem like a lot to you, but to them, it might make their entire week.
4. Take a night to yourself.
In college, it’s hard to find any alone time. So, if the opportunity presents itself, take a night to yourself. Kick your feet up and throw on some “Parks & Rec” to stay sane. Without a night like this every so often, you will find yourself climbing up a wall in the library because you need some sort of release.
5. When you find your core group of friends, keep them.
They will pick you up when you find yourself alone downtown. They will answer your calls at two in the morning, and they will always have your back, no matter what. It may take some time and some jumping from group-to-group to find these friends, but once you do, you will never be let down.
6. And finally, love every moment of your college experience.
It is four short years that we have here. Don’t spend even one night feeling sad or alone because these are the best years of your life, and you cannot get them back.