As my first year at Penn State comes to an end, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on how the past nine months of my life have gone. College hit me like a rock and has been the experience of a lifetime. The best part about it, I still have three whole years left.
Even after only one year, college has already taught me so many life lessons that I am grateful for. I am hoping that by speaking about what I have learned, I am able to help at least one person if they are either struggling with the thought of coming to college or are struggling in college.
One of the first things I learned since being at Penn State is that you might not find your life friends right away, and you are not alone. The whole summer before my freshman year of college, I had the mindset that I was going to find my group of people right away, and we would do everything together. I would have the people I could hang out with, go to dinner with, go out with, etc.
That did not happen. I have been grateful enough to find individual people I get along with, but I have not been able to find that one core group of people that I have been longing for. Going into my sophomore year, I am still hopeful that I will find my people, but it was hard going in with an expectation and not having that expectation met.
Another thing I learned was being okay with having to do things by yourself. To go along with not being able to find my core group of people yet, what comes with that is having to do most things alone and having to be okay with that.
When I go to dinner, I have come to accept that I will be going by myself. If I am going to the library or the Hub to study, I have to accept that no one else will be coming with me. Even though it does suck, I have been taught that it is okay to have moments by myself and I have also learned how to be more independent.
People will not ask you to hang out with them or to go out with them. College has taught me that you can’t rely on other people because more often than not, they are not thinking about you or thinking about inviting you somewhere. I have also learned that if you put yourself out there more and more, the more they will ask you to do things.
I’ve learned that at the beginning of the year, you can’t say no to anything. Which is what I did and probably why I have learned most things I have. When you say no, people will not ask you again.
Unfortunately, one thing I have been taught is that the grades you had in high school do not matter. I had perfect grades in high school with a 4.0 GPA. That is not the case anymore.
In college, my grades are hanging on for dear life. My exam grades have not been good. I have been forced to relearn how to study.
In high school, I never had to study, but in college, if you want good grades, you need to know how to study and what to study in order to get good grades.
One last thing I have learned is to get involved not only in clubs and opportunities, but with your professors.
I have learned that having a good relationship with your professors will help in the long run. They are there to help you, and you can always use them as a resource later in life. However, your professors will not reach out to you; you have to reach out to them.
There is so much more I have learned since being a freshman in college. I am going to use everything I have been taught to improve my sophomore year of college, and I can’t wait to learn more so I can keep improving.
Do not be scared to do things alone. Do not be scared if you don’t find your people right away.
Do not be scared to get involved, and do not be scared to reach out to professors. Use everything you learn to improve. Put yourself out there!