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Lessons I’ve Learned In My First Semester

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Purdue chapter.

My first semester at Purdue has taught me a lot of things. It has taught me how to be more independent, how to take care of myself, where the best places to eat are and so much more. Here are just a few of the many lessons that I have learned in these last few months.

How To Manage My Time

Time management is something very important that you learn in college and you learn it fast.  You are now on your own with no one to force you to wake up and go to class or make you dinner every day. You are the one who must make the time to either go to the dining courts or make your own food. You have to schedule your time carefully because between class, homework, work, eating, and socializing we all have an overly full schedule. You have to take into account what is important and what isn’t. If you don’t learn how to manage your time in college you’re going to run into trouble.

Money Management

Money management is another big thing you learn in college. There are many things you must juggle, and everyone knows part of being a college student is that we are all usually broke. Whenever relatives visit, they usually give you at least a few bucks or your parents take pity on you and transfer some money into your account. When either of these happens we all rejoice. Then comes the question of what to spend it on. You can’t always go buy that new pair of shoes you want. Part of being an adult is having to pay bills and buy groceries. It sucks but something to always remember is that when you are budgeting try to save and put aside a little bit each time and eventually, you’ll be able to splurge on yourself a little or have money in case of an emergency.

How To Be Away From Home

I think the biggest thing I learned this semester was how to be away from home. Purdue is not very far from my home and I do go home a lot, but it was still a big adjustment. I had to adjust to living with a girl instead of all my brothers and had to learn to wake up for class on my own. Purdue is very different from what I am used to but now after this first semester it has become my home away from home. I think by the end of break I will even be missing life up here at Purdue and especially missing those that have become like family.

These are just three of many things that I have learned this semester and I am sure I will learn just as much if not more next semester. College teaches you so much and I’m not just talking about what we learn in class. We are learning how to be independent, how to live, we are learning who we are.

Harlie is from a very very small town in Indiana and is a freshman at Purdue majoring in Studio Arts and Technology. She enjoys reading, watching movies, painting, and saying stupid jokes. You can most often find her laying in bed ignoring a huge pile of homework and watching Netflix. Follow her college adventure on Insta @harlie.garrett
All the way from Phoenix, Arizona, Janice attends Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where she is currently a bioengineering major. Spending her time daydreaming Janice can be found jamming out to any song, watching netflix, or studying for the terrifying tests she has around the corner. You can follow her adventures @janichan on instagram.