This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SAU chapter.
In my 18 years of experience in life, I have found that there are two different types of people when it comes to College. There are the people who are sad about leaving high school and the people who want nothing more than to leave high school in the past. Movies like High School Musical gave everyone high expectations for high school, and there is no shortage of movies romanticizing college. (Although, why do all of them involve spontaneous singing?) But, no matter which person you are or what your expectations are, here are my goals and advice after my first semester of college.
My goals:
- You were probably expecting the first goal to be to graduate, right? Nope. My goal is to graduate College without a crippling caffeine addiction. I’ve seen so many people on campus downing energy drink after energy drink. That has made me realize three things: a) that is really not healthy, b) no amount of caffeine is a replacement for sleep, and c) the withdrawal headaches must be KILLER.
- Now is the graduation goal. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, graduating from College is a big goal for me because I know it is hard, but that just shows that I can make it through hard things. I mean, if I can make it through 4 years of running on tea and spite, then I can do anything.
- Just have fun. Unlike high school, I’m not going into the rest of my college years with high expectations. Because high expectations just lead to disappointment. Just go with the flow and don’t take yourself too seriously.
My advice:
- I might not be the most well versed in “college wisdom” but there are a few things I have learned. Everyone says to not procrastinate, but I’m going to edit that saying a little bit. Try not to procrastinate but give yourself a little grace. Mental health is sometimes a little bit of a roller coaster so learn to take breaks when you need to.
- Really try to put yourself out there. Not only does it help to have a circle of friends, but the more people you talk to, the more people you can ask for help in classes.
- Again, just have fun. College will fly by and then after that you have to become an adult. So make the most of the rest of your time where you don’t have constant responsibilities.