Coming to college involves a lot of changes from high school; the most prominent being that you are away from home, and you have the time and opportunity to really self-reflect and become more self-aware of what you want out of life. However, it’s inevitable that you’re going to have your ups and downs throughout your first year of college. So, here are some of the things that I grew to understand after my freshman year of college that I believe are truly important to keep in mind in order to grow and mature not only as a college student, but as a human being.
1. Appearance is not the most important thing
The size of your clothing does not matter. Body image has always been a concern for many people, particularly women. What I, as well as some fellow friends, have realized is that the number on the tag of your pants, dress, or shirt really does not matter. The important thing is that you try to look good in what fits you best. It may be inevitable that you gain a little bit of weight coming into college, but don’t try to fit into the size that you wore in high school because you gained some pounds. You won’t feel comfortable and will continue to feel bad about yourself because you grew, but changing in size is nothing to be ashamed of.
2. Don’t feel alone if you haven’t found the right friends
In many cases, people may not automatically settle into a tightknit group of friends that is often advertised in high school. But that is nothing to make yourself feel bad about, because that means you don’t stick to people that you don’t feel comfortable with, and you’re just a step closer to finding the right group of friends for you. College is a great environment to branch out and meet the most amazing people that you always wanted.
3. Don’t do anything in anticipation to prove someone wrong
Often, I’ve observed situations where people say that they’ve gone to such-and-such college or achieved so-and-so thing to prove others wrong and rub it in their face for thinking that they couldn’t do anything. Don’t pursue any single thing with the mindset revolving around that person or group of people. For example, don’t lose weight because an ex-girlfriend or boyfriend or some random person insulted your weight/looks. Do it because you want to be healthy and because it makes you feel good about taking care of yourself. If you do things because of other people, you’ll never end up making choices for yourself and will constantly be wallowing in the ignorant opinions of others.
4. Love yourself unconditionally
Don’t belittle yourself with negativity, whether it is about your outward appearance, your behavior, or even something as small as how you laugh. Learn to love yourself, love your own quirks and flaws, and love the fact that you are the only you. Once you stop comparing yourself to other people around you (whether it be how they look or how much they’ve achieved so far), you’ll gain confidence like no other.
Maybe one of these four things has already occurred to you, or maybe none of them have. In either situation, just bear these things in mind, and trust me—you’ll be taking a greater step to being a happier and more confident person in college, and of course in the future.
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