College is a scary and yet exciting adventure that most post high school grads embark on in the hot summer days of August. It is something that a lot of us look forward to, new friendships, new experiences, and overall new knowledge. For me, it was my next adventure in life. I am now in my second semester of freshman year and have already learned so much within the first 4 months of school. I’ve learned that…..
-
Time management is key
College is a complete one eighty from high school. You gain a lot of independence and have a lot of free time because your classes are either so spread out during the day or you may have only one class on a given day. Therefore, adjusting to the amount of “free” time I had was a major adjustment for me, as I was not going to school for 6 hrs, then going to sports practice, then going home to do homework. Figuring out a schedule of when to do what was challenging, but eventually everything fell into place. I highly recommend some sort of planner that allows you to map out what you week looks like and when to do what.
2. Eating well and exercise impacts how you feel
I have been an athlete throughout high school. So coming to college not playing a sport I was kind of lost. In the beginning I stopped working out and adjusting to college food lead to lots of carbs. It was all an adjustment period. I really had to take a step back and realize that I needed to take better care of myself. I started to get back into a workout routine and eating better, and let me tell you that makes a complete difference in how you feel as well as how you manage your school work and other extra curricular’s.
3. Sleep is everything
You don’t realize how much you miss sleep until your the definition of sleep deprived. Sleep is so important and just affects you overall performance in college. I think the thing I learned was if you have any free time from doing work even if its just 10 minutes, those 10 minutes can really help get you through your day. It is just important to give your body the time it needs to recharge.
4. Have fun
I think enjoying your time and having fun is something that’s really important to balance into ones life in college. Have fun, whether that’s going to the movies with friends or going out to a party. Make time to be social and enjoy college. Having a perfect balance between school and your social life is really important and at the end of the day it is what will create memories both good and bad through this adventure.
6. Do your best
This was something that I really learned this past semester. I am very diligent when it comes to my academic work. I really wanted to do well in my first semester and at the end of the day my hard work did pay off, but I really had to understand that putting in my best effort was what mattered the most. Because at the end of the day your putting in all this work for you and to better yourself. You can only be the judge of your success. I think that was something I had to adjust to, was that it was okay to not get the highest grade in class. As long as you put in your best effort and did everything you could, that’s what mattered.
7. Be Yourself
I think if I can give anyone advice about going into their first year of college it is to just be yourself. At the end of the day people are gonna care about you for who you are, so don’t try to change who you are and your values to fit into the “norm”. Being unique is way cooler than be like everyone else.