There are a lot of scary things about going to college, and I understand that. Just a year ago, I was in your shoes. I left my comfy home in Ohio to go to Florida and begin my life as an aerospace engineer.
I have learned a lot of lessons along the way, and below are some of the most important:
1. Stay in touch with the people you love
My biggest support system was my family and friends from back home throughout my freshman year. No matter what happened, skype calls with my family and long conversations with those who cared about me back home genuinely seemed to help. I was always told that the people you were friends with in high school would fall out of contact with you. To some extent, that’s true. Some of my friends from Ohio I no longer talk to. However, those who made an effort with me – and those I made a continual effort with – stayed in my life, and I couldn’t be happier for it.
2. Don't be afraid to try new things
See a club that sounds interesting? Go to it. Always wanted to learn a foreign language and there’s a new class for it? Take the course.
My friends and I at an event for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
One of the best things I did for myself was to join the Society of Women Engineers. I’ve never been a huge extrovert, but I’m not afraid to meet new people, either. Suddenly, I had a network of people with the same dreams and passions as myself, people who I could ask advice from, and incredible conversations on long car rides to airports.
By doing something you’ve always wanted to do, you are surrounding yourself with people who are similar to you, or that you know share at least one common interest. These are the individuals you spend the rest of your lives with as best friends.
3. It's okay to cry
Everyone does it, and at some point at college, so will you.
These can be tears of joy, frustration, pain, or even anger. It’s perfectly normal. College is a stressful time for anyone who hasn’t been before. It’s even worse when you’re away from the home you’ve known for so long.
The best piece of advice is to go ahead and cry. Let your emotions show! Everyone there will know why you’re crying: its college. This brings me to the next point…
4. Don't worry about who's judging you
So you’re crying. Big deal. You finish the test within 10 minutes and you can feel embarrassment as you stand up to turn in your test before everyone else. Let them look.
Allow others to judge you if they want to be that petty. College is your time to enjoy the little things, get upset when you just can’t hold it in anymore, and just be yourself. That’s one of the points of college. It’s a time to discover who you really are. If people are going to judge you for that, then you don’t need them in your life. You don’t need to even acknowledge their existence. In the long run, your mental health and happiness will thank you for it.
5. Failed a course? Try again!
Let me tell you a very quick story to get this point across.
I took an introductory physics course my first semester of college. Unfortunately for me, the professor was one of the hardest physics professors at Embry-Riddle, and I failed. I failed miserably. It was like my world had completely fallen apart. Worst of all, I had to take the course over again.
But I’m super glad that I took the course again. I ended up with an amazing professor who managed to explain the subject well enough that I passed the course. Not only that, but he became a shining example of what a college professor should be. Countless hours were spent at his office, asking questions, correcting exams, and becoming a better student.
Yes, failing a course doesn’t make you feel great. But pick yourself up, and try again.
6. Professor's office hours are your new best friend
That physics course that I mentioned above has another important lesson attached to it.
At the end of the semester, I had a 68% in the class. I was just under passing the course. But because I had spent two days a week, every single week, he curved my grade up to a C so that I could pass the course.
Now, not every professor will do this. Some will be stricter. But office hours are a great time to get your questions answered that you didn’t feel comfortable asking during class. Or maybe you aren’t sure about why you got a specific grade. Professors (most of them) don’t have a lot of students visit them, so take your time. They’re there to help you, so use it!
7. Don't give up on your major just yet
Aerospace engineering is a rough degree program, and is regarded to be one of the hardest forms of engineering. There have been a lot of times when I have sat back and asked myself if all of the work was worth the degree in the end. I decided to continue to stick it out, because I loved the career enough to drop $40-50k on it.
College is hard, guys. A lot harder than high school, no matter who you are. There are a lot of new situations and adjustments to be made, especially your freshman year. So do yourself a favor and when it gets too hard, don’t automatically just assume it’s because you can’t toughen out your major. Give yourself some credit and spend at least a year in your major. Get your general credits out of the way while you do it so that if you do want to change your major you can, but don’t just give up. Not yet.
8. Balance your duties by prioritizing and choosing wisely
You have to be able to fit everything you need to be a thriving student in a day. So do you go outside to have fun and play soccer or sit down to do homework? Sometimes the choice is hard, especially later in the year.
If you have homework that’s not due for another week, it’s okay to go do something fun. We all need those breaks to regroup ourselves mentally, physically, and emotionally. But if you’re so jammed back with school work, organizations, and responsibilities, going outside to play around is probably not the smartest thing in the world.
By the same token, don’t say yes to everyone who asks you for help. Yes, you love the group you’re a part of. But if you have a project due tomorrow, you honestly probably don’t have time to help your friend study for his physics test next week.
Essentially, you’ve just got to be smart.
9. You're going to get knocked down
Probably the hardest lesson is that at some point your freshman year, you’re going to get knocked down.
This could be from a poor test grade, or having a fallout with a friend, or failing a class. Maybe it’s something small, like you were late to class and it just pushed you over the edge.
It’s okay.
The fact of the matter is that your freshman year is a roller coaster. Sometimes you will feel like the smartest person in the room, then the next day contemplate dropping out of college all together. Your first test will come back as a 98%, yet the next one will come back as a 31%. On Monday your relationship will be fine, by Wednesday you’ve gotten into an argument over the other person putting too much cheese on your meal.
Because of one of these reasons or a million others, at one point you will be knocked down emotionally and mentally. You’ll want to just give up in general. Stay in bed with Netflix, eat popcorn, turn off your phone, and avoid all human interaction will sound like the best course of action.
But it’s not. Unfortunately, you’re an adult. But do you want to know what makes it incredible, and makes it worth to pick yourself up and dust off your clothing?
You’ve gotten this far already. Through guidance, love, and pure intelligence, you’ve gotten to college and you’re finally on your own. YOU decide what’s for dinner, YOU decide when you’re going to do your homework, and YOU decide what’s best for you.
It’s empowering, although scary.
But you’ve got this. Wipe the dirt from your clothes, hold you head up high with a smile, and tell yourself:
