Dear second-semester self,
Congratulations! You survived your first semester of college. However, you have the feel for all things college now, so I think it’s about time for us to change some things and step up our game a little bit.
First of all, you have to eat better. You’ve figured out how your meal plan works and where you like to eat on campus. However, most of the places you like to eat at are actually completely and totally horrible for your body. If you’re trying to make it out of college without heart disease, you might need to start trying some of the healthier options.
Second of all, go to the gym. I’m not saying that you have to go to the gym every day, but at least make an effort to go a couple of times a week. And if your eating habits don’t change, then it’s going to catch up to you… fast. The freshman 15 is so real. Keep that in mind. Plus, you have free access to a killer gym on campus, so there’s really no excuse to not go.
Quit procrastinating. There were very few things you didn’t put off until the last possible second last semester, and that’s not going to fly for the rest of college so get your crap together. Quit doing homework and papers the night before they’re due. Quit waiting to study for big tests until the morning of. And this one is going to be hard, but quit sleeping until 15 minutes before class; it makes you rushed and scatter brained (and embarrassingly out of breath when you sit down in class sweating from running the whole way there).
Call Mom and Dad more. I know you think you're like some big adult now or something since you basically live on your own, but they love hearing from you, so call them. Check in on them and your brothers back at home more often than you did last semester. Also, you go to school with your sister and she is your only family within two hours so make an effort to see her more often. I know she's busy getting ready for grad school and you have your responsibilities as well, but hang out more.
Learn to ask for help when you need it. You’ve got to quit being so stubborn and thinking that you can figure everything out on your own. If you genuinely can’t figure an assignment out, email your professor or ask questions in class. I promise it’s going to be a lot better of a solution than staying up until all hours of the night stressing yourself out until you come up with something. Call your mom and dad when you have questions about adult things. If you need to know how long to put the chicken nuggets in the oven for, call them and ask. They might have a laugh or two about it, but it’s better than burning your nuggets because you were too stubborn to ask.
Lastly, quit complaining so much and make the most of next semester. Your classes aren’t as hard and boring as you make them out to be. Work isn’t as horrible as you think it is. You’re not going to die from waking up early for your 8 a.m. And you don’t need a nap everyday (no promises this one is actually going to change, but we’ll see). Go to more school sporting events. Make friends with people in your classes. Find more things to get in involved with. This is college. You’re supposed to be stressed out and tired sometimes (actually, most of the time). Make the most of it because first semester flew by in a blink of an eye, so just think about how fast the next three and a half years are going to.
Listen up; we killed first semester, but I think we can do better. Make it happen.
Love,
First-semester you
