Advice from Jane, Your Fellow College Student

We’re merely seven weeks into the 2019/2020 school year and whether you’re a first-semester freshman or a seasoned senior, we can all do with a little advice during some confusing moments in our lives. With World Mental Health Day being on October 10th, it’s so important to recognize the different issues we all may find ourselves in and provide each other with the greatest assistance possible for dealing with such situations. While I’m certainly not an expert on providing advice, here’s what I’ve learned in my first few weeks as a freshman at Boston University.

Although you’ll probably hear it everywhere, time management is key in whatever year of college you’re in: we can all get easily overwhelmed, and it’s about saying ‘no’ to some things to make sure your schedule never gets overloaded. For instance, for the freshman out there, it’s better to put all of your energy and motivations into two or three clubs rather than trying to spread yourself thinly across five or more. Club leaders and employers would rather see that you’re extremely active in a couple of organizations over being moderately active in a lot. This prioritizing of your time for a few, certain clubs is a great way to keep your schedule clear for other things you both have to complete and would like to do as a form of relaxation or socializing.

Additionally, whiteboards are a great product for planning out your day, week, month or maybe all of them since you can easily erase, rewrite the schedule according to what has been completed or changed, and carry on! I have one in my dorm, and it helps me plan out club meetings, assignments, and other events so much since I don’t always have my computer or my planner with me. 

Beyond pure organization, let’s talk about social life. It’s one of the most important aspects of a university student’s life, but it doesn’t always come easily as a freshman or can quickly fall apart when friends are graduating and getting full-time jobs. It’s important to remember that sometimes finding the right group of people for you takes time – it takes people entire semesters to be absolutely sure of their group oftentimes. Friends come from all sorts of places: for instance, maybe it’s people on your floor, or people you’ve met either in class or through a club. It doesn’t matter where you find them, but it matters that you will eventually find a group of people you truly connect with. 

Photo credit: Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash

Despite the seemingly obvious nature of this advice, it’s the type of advice that matters so early in the semester: some people are still feeling a little lost about how they fit in all their clubs, and which people they ‘vibe’ with, which is perfectly okay!

We all go through confusing moments in our lives regarding what seem like incredibly simple tasks, and there’s no shame in admitting that and seeking advice from those around us, and, if necessary, professional attention.

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