1. Eat as much food from the cafeteria as possible.
Yes, the food probably is not great. But once you enter the real world of paying for your meal, and still having to cook for yourself sometimes, the cafeteria will not seem all that bad. Meal plans actually do cost you something, but you are already paying for school.
2. Drop/add could be your best friend if you utilize it correctly.
Most students do not realize that some of the classes that they are signed up for do not pertain to any of the classes they need for their degree, rendering them useless in the grand scheme of things. You do not have to take a class that does not relate to your overall education and requirements. Do not settle for just any elective. Everything, and I do mean everything, means something in college.
3. Sometimes plans just do not happen the way you thought they would.
Your major could change, you could lose your athletic scholarship for medical reasons, you could even fail classes (even when you tried your hardest). The main point to remember is to not lose focus of your ultimate goal. If you happen to slip up for one reason or another, focus on getting back on the track. Do not wallow in the failure that seems to have consumed you. There are so many bigger things that are going to happen down the road of life. Eventually, you will not remember how many days you sacrificed and studied, only to receive a disappointing grade on a paper or test.
4. Your college sweetheart may not be the one you leave college with.
Sometimes the notion of finding who you think is your soulmate is a little overrated. Spending time with someone you care about is extremely important, especially on the really stressful days. But if a relationship fails, just like in high school, you will get over it. You will make it through to the other side. The side where being a grown up means you can move to the other end of the world, so you do not have to run into that person in the grocery store. What a marvelous feeling of freedom to know you have that option if needed.
5. Your professors care about your education just as much as you do (most of the time).
You may have the occasional few who may not care as much. But often times, you will find a professor who genuinely wants you to exceed and do well in any path you choose to take. Classes will be much easier if you learn to befriend the professors and listen to their guidance. Remember that they were once in your shoes, and they can help you figure out where your strengths are, if you allow them to.
6. Find activities that you truly enjoy, with people who you truly enjoy.
The beauty of college is that everyone is learning who they want to be. You will find many more people of similar interests spending time together. It is refreshing to find a group of students who enjoy the same activities, which usually lead to life-long relationships. College is an entirely new page where you can write a new chapter of who you are as a person. Your college friends will help you learn who that is. And if you happen to lose some relationships along the way, you will find that it is because they are finding themselves, too. Enjoy every relationship you have with others, because one day, college will be over. That is when you decide who stays and who goes. Distance often tells a lot about the strength of friendships.
7. Clubs and organized activities will help you along the way.
Like I said before, everything matters in college. Joining clubs will also help you to learn where your strengths and weaknesses are. You can learn where you excel and what groups are the best fit for you. After college, when you are submitting resumes, corporations like to see what clubs and activities motivated you so that they may place you where you need to be in their company, and ultimately, in life.
8. You may not use your degree right away after school, and that is OK.
Do not panic when you are hired for something that is completely opposite of your education. College is a great way to help you to learn how to be resilient in life. You learn a great deal more about yourself when you are stretched outside of your comfort zone.
9. Have as much fun as you can.
College is meant for students to further education, while also teaching you how to have fun, even when you are a little too stressed out. You will find that after college, you may miss the days when your roommate ordered pizza at two in the morning so you could fuel up for a long night of studying. Pizza at 2:00 a.m. never hurt anyone… although sleeping is also very crucial during your stay at college.
10. Always have faith that you will end up exactly where you need to be in life.
No one promised that everything was going to be easy all of the time. But you can have confidence in knowing that if you do everything you are supposed to do, you are going to be just fine. Be proud of the person you have become, and are becoming. On graduation day, and long after, when you are looking at pictures with your children, you can smile with pride knowing that you survived. You survived late night study sessions, brutal 8:00 a.m. classes with equally brutal finals, college love, college friends, and everything else that comes along with this wonderful experience.
