I am done with my first year at university! I am so thankful for my found family at the university and my family at home, I could not have done it without all the support and love I got. I had my ups and downs and I had some crazy times, but overall I had a very big learning experience, which is what it’s all about, right? With all the credits and clubs I’ve joined, the most valuable things that I’ve actually learned are different: life lessons. I’ve categorized what I’ve learned about life and moving to university into five major lessons.
1. Your ego will deflate
The number one thing I tell new students going into any post-secondary education is that your ego will deflate — and trust me, it’s for the better! Your bubble needs to pop and your worldview needs to expand in order to learn anything. Just to get personal, my grade average dropped around 9%, which is completely normal for the transition between high school and university. If you pride yourself on your grades, STOP—it is a road to misery, and relying on academic validation is the easiest way to get burnt out. Your ego has to come down at least a couple of notches in order to do well in your first year and have fun with it. It is still your life, and you need to be able to be a person as well as a student.
2. Invest in hobbies
On the note of needing a balance between personhood and student life, you should invest in your hobbies! If you like to write, join a club (like Her Campus!). If you like theatre, carve out time to see shows or join a team for it! My point is to join clubs and attend events that genuinely interest you. Clubs are great on a CV but even better when you’re genuinely interested in what you’re spending your time on. I found that if I joined a club and carved out time for it, it counted towards both my extra-curricular and creative outlets. It’s totally fine if clubs aren’t your thing, but investing money into things that interest you is the best way to help you maintain that balance between your student life and your real life!
3. friendships are different from high school
Friendships in high school are probably the same friendships from elementary school, preschool, and so on. The friends that you have in high school are nice because they’re convenient: you live close together, you share the same teachers, your families probably know each other. My hometown is fairly big, but it still feels like everyone knows each other even if we went to different high schools. In university, it’s totally different—and so much better in my opinion! My closest friends were the people that lived on my floor, and we were all from different places. None of us knew each other before September, and everyone had different stories and backgrounds. I think this makes for much more interesting friendships. The only downside is that in university, you have to actively work to maintain friendships, whereas in high school they’re convenient because of history and proximity. The lesson I learned in friendships is that if you don’t put in the work to keep them, they won’t be as strong. Making friends is a skill that will definitely be exercised in university, and the best way to do that is to be yourself and put effort into the people you care about and who care about you!
4. Your relationship with food will change
I was in a very fortunate position to live in residency and have a 7-day meal plan. I had a good relationship with food instilled in me growing up which I’m so thankful for, but not a lot of people did, which is okay! Food can be a tricky subject, but it helps to find your balance. Treating yourself only after being “good”, restricting yourself, and counting calories can cause a very slippery slope towards disordered or obsessive eating, and dealing with that is especially difficult while living alone for the first time. Try your best to stay balanced by getting enough vitamins, eating your veggies, and staying active as much as you can (even getting outside for a walk is great!).
5. It is what you make it
My favourite advice from my mom! She’s told me this all throughout my life, and I carry it with me and pass it onto anyone needing advice: Everything in life is what you make it. If you go into a class thinking, “Oh my gosh… this is too hard, I’m going to fail this class, I won’t be able to do it, I can’t do it!” then guess what? You’re not going to be able to do it! I know there are often external factors beyond your control, but in some capacity, your mindset affects and manifests a lot of your success. Life, school, relationships—they’re all what you make it! Once you decide you can find a way to have a good time, trust yourself and your gut, and you’ll get to where you need to be.
Overall, take everything I say with a grain of salt because life is different for everyone. I loved university, and I’m so lucky I was able to learn these life lessons along the way in a safe and loving environment. Remember that post-secondary is not necessarily made for everyone, and to take the path that best suits you! If you’re going into your first year of university soon, you got this and good luck!