Growing up, we likely had the preconceived notion that college would always be about partying until sunrise and forming solid friendships the moment you move into your dorm. But truthfully, college is a rather different experience for everyone. For me, I lost a year and a half due to the pandemic, and so my college experience felt like it was put on hold.ow that I am on campus as a junior, it feels like a continuation of my freshman year. Here are some things I wish I knew going into my first year:
Forming a social network is extremely important
Beyond the academic aspects of college life, it is important to form solid friendships as early as you can. It’s important to attend club socials and make new friends through mutuals and group chats.It took a while but I was able to build a strong social network later in my college years. But better late than never!
Attend office hours as much as possible
Professors are there to help answer your questions. It would be fruitful to utilize their office hours to get to know them and help them get to know you better. Many professors enjoy seeing and hearing from former students to know how they’re doing, so don’t be afraid to even reach out to a professor from a year or two ago!
Know when you function best
Some people are able to wake up at 5am everyday and still make time to go to the gym, make breakfast, go to five classes, attend clubs, and more and still manage to sleep by 10pm. But I know I can’t follow that routine, and I’d rather sleep in until 10am just so I can function better during the day. I used to try to become one of those people who seemed to have a fixed schedule everyday, but I learned that it is better to follow my own schedule and to go at my own pace.
Overall college is a roller coaster of emotions, and it’s not possible to set high expectations in hopes that you would be able to achieve your goals in one-day. Additionally the friendships we make are something irreplaceable and makes college more enjoyable and worthwhile in the long-run. In retrospect, I would’ve told myself younger self to start forming friendships and connections earlier on because that matters the most, arguably more than just getting a college degree, in life.