Attending college is a very big milestone – it is a stepping stone to the rest of your life. These are supposed to be the best years of your life which you will remember forever. When attending school you are supposed to have fun, especially when attending an HBCU. However, there are a bunch of common mistakes that people make that will take away from the college experience. These mistakes can lead to stress, and can even affect your mental health.
Falling Behind on Class Work
Falling behind on classwork is the easiest way to stress yourself out. I get it, FOMO is very real and can get you to put those assignments on the back burner. But I promise missing a couple of events is nothing compared to the stress that you get when you have so much late work that you get overwhelmed, not knowing where to start.Â
Take it from me: I put a lot of work to the side to have fun during my freshman year. Doing so caused me to fall behind to the point where I could not catch back up, my GPA falling below a 2.0. I started handling my business, so now my GPA is above a 3. Remember: the fun is always going to be there. Just be about your business and you’ll naturally have more time to do fun activities.
Reckless Spending
Now, while money is not everything, in college, it does make everything a lot easier. I experienced life in college with and without money, and I can say that money is definitely a necessity. Everything costs money in college and just having money allows you to splurge a little more because we all get tired of campus food at some point. Also, just having your own money relieves some stress and you won’t have to worry about depending on Mom and Dad.
Not Being Social
College is the social hub with hundreds and hundreds of your peers. Not being social is one of the mistakes you should avoid in your first year of college. Now, I am not saying you have to be a social butterfly and the life of the party, but at least try to put in the effort to make connections. Being alone in college is tough – isolating yourself in your room is not healthy for you.Â
I know this to be true because that was me during my freshman year; I was alone and it was my worst year of college by far. You do not need a million friends, just go out and find that one friend that makes going out fun. You are supposed to enjoy college, and once you find people to enjoy it with, college becomes even better.
There are obviously more mistakes to avoid in college such as working too much, not leaving time for yourself, and doing the bare minimum, but if we went through all of them we’d be here all day. So, leaving you guys with these is a good enough start. Hopefully, everybody who needs this guidance will take it into account and I hope it will enrich your college life.