My sophomore year was much different than my freshman year. Freshman year, I was still recovering from my most recent hip surgery which meant I went home every weekend. This year I spent a lot more time at school and had the opportunity to be more involved on campus and meet a lot more friends. This extra time on campus gave me so many new experiences, not all were positive, but they all taught me many lessons.
1) The only thing standing between you and happiness is yourself.
A lot of times whenever I am truly happy, I almost get scared. I feel like at any moment, when everything is seemingly perfect, that everything could suddenly fall apart. This year I learned that this self-sabitoging is, well, stupid and it is honestly a waste of time and energy. Constantly worrying about what is going to go wrong inhibits you from enjoying all that is going right. Stop worrying, and sit back and enjoy everything you have going for you, if something goes wrong you can deal with it then.
2) It's okay to put yourself first.
I spent a lot of time putting people's feelings before my own. I wasn't happy and I let it go on for far too long because I was afraid of hurting other peoples' feelings. It is important to keep your own feelings in mind. If you are constantly run down and miserable, you are in no shape to help anyone else. Making sure that you have everything together for yourself allows you to give more of yourself to others in a positive and meaningful way.
3) You don't have to be everyone's friend.
This is something that I have always understood to some extent, but in college it is even more true. In high school, obviously, there were people you did not particularly care for or get along with. Even if you went to a larger sized high school, you still see these people and interact with them on a daily basis, so you must get along with them to some extent. In college, while you may run into them in class or in the cafeteria, you do not have to spend time with them. If there is someone who you don't want to see, you really don't have to see or hang out with them. Sometimes we just don't mesh with people, and that is okay! You're better off being kind to everyone, while acknowledging the fact that everyone can't be your best friend, than putting on an act every day and then turning around and making rude comments the second this person walks away. Putting on a fake smile has to get exhausting anyway, but maybe that's just me.
4) You get what you give.
Getting a degree is the real reason we all are here at college. At the end of the day, you must put time into your studies or you will not get anything out of them. Maybe you hate the class because it has no application to your life and you will never use it again after the 14 weeks are over. Maybe you have a lot of things going on right now and need time to sort out your life. As long as you remember what truly matters, and put the necessary time in at the end of the day, you should be able to stay on track. Eyes on the prize, eyes on the prize.
5) Things go wrong, but how you handle them is everything.
You will do worse than anticipated on a test you studied for hours for, you will get a lower grade than you think you deserved on a project you spent weeks on; you may lose a friend, or have problems where you live. Life happens, what matters is how you react and how you handle these types of situations. Turn a bad grade into motivation, and keep moving. We all have problems that can weigh us down at times, but we cannot let them define us. At the end of the day, it is important that you take whatever message or lesson away from your bad experience and keep going.
6) Being present in the moment is important.
Sometimes I find myself stressing out about problems that don't exist, and won't even have the opportunity to exist until a few years down the road. I worry about things like what kind of job I will have out of college, or how I will pass the CPA exam. These issues are by no means pressing. While it is important to have your future in mind, don't stress over it too much. It is much more important to focus on what you are doing right now. Be productive in your studies, enjoy and cherish time with your family and friends, and give yourself some room to breathe. You never know what could happen along the way.
7) Staying true to yourself is everything.
Although you can try as hard as possible to avoid conflict with others, it is somewhat inevitable. Regardless of what problems may arise, it is very important to stay true to your own opinions and morals. If you value honesty, don't sacrifice it. Whatever is is that is important to you, stick by it. Especially in a time such as college, it is so important to remember where you came from. While we do grow, change, and develop into the people we become, we must remember how we got here.
