The truth about the first year of college is it is more of a rollercoaster than anticipated. Social media and cultural influences have a bad habit of glamorizing people’s lives, especially college students. Looking beyond the lens of glamor and social influence, college is more a collection of stories developed through trial and error.
Being a college student is like a controlled experiment before you become an actual adult. There are very similar situations that would occur when you are out in the real world but in a place that is supportive of a growth mindset and where it is easier to rebound from failures treating them as learning opportunities. As your stories unfold, here are just a few lessons to live by in college:
Be a good roommate.
There are so many people nowadays that struggle with roommates or being roommates in college. Pick up your things or keep them within your own designated spaces. Make a chore chart with your other roommates to tackle shared room chores. Designate what chore goes with who so there is responsibility by all roommates.
Emotions and feelings are common and important to growth.
Chances are the people that you have chosen to surround yourself with are feeling similar emotions to how you are feeling. Emotional situations can range from homesickness to roommate conflict or just daily struggles with being independent. If you feel comfortable to share, you may find that you are not alone in what you are experience. Listening is key because there are always new tips and tricks that you might pick up from others that could help you learn to cope in emotional situations as well.
Be Open to Love.
In my opinion Mamma Mia did love best. I have learned that love is more in the framework of the chapters that you live rather than finding your one true love. Maybe you will find your one true love in the first year of college, and that is great. To those who have kissed more frogs than one true loves, each relationship is a lesson that allows you to learn more about yourself, and how to be a better person.
Failure is a learning opportunity.
You are going to fail in academics one way or another. Do not panic when you do. You are not the only one failing, and if you feel like you need to withdraw and start over next semester, then withdraw. It is also totally okay to withdraw and never take that class again. Through failing we learn. We learn about ourselves, our future goals and where we really want to be versus where we don’t want to be.
Put your mental and physical health first.
College life is full of stressors, opportunities to party, long days, and nights. Take care of yourself in a manner that will benefit the current and future versions of yourself. Mental and physical health should be your first priority and from there everything else will come together.
At the end of the day, you are supposed to be doing what makes your heart happy in a sustainable manner. Remember that you are youthful and have so much to give to the world. College is the place to let all those stories of you unfold. Learn the lessons from these stories, seize the opportunities, and keep moving forward to your dreams and goals. Because at the end of the day the only person stopping you in college is yourself and your story has yet to be fully written.