Dear Future University Student,
Whether you are a senior in high school getting ready to be on your own for the first time in your life or switching from a community college to a university away from home; this letter applies to you. Each person will take the change differently, going to an university for the first time can be terrifying, but it is also the place for a person to find themselves.
Most people will tell you that going to college consist of time management, studying, and a new found caffeine addiction. What many people aren't told about college is about the people that you will meet. Being away from home and in a new environment will expose a person to new people and new situations. At college a person can and will mostly like meet the people that will be in their lives forever. And each new situation will be a lesson that isn't paid for.
Parents, teachers, and coaches will tell a student they are there for one purpose only. To learn their place in the work and academic world. And yet a student is learns so much more than just their future career, and for some people it takes longer than others. College can be exciting and scary at the same time, it can be hard but still amazing it's actually up to the individual.
Even though many people say that you're on your own at college this isn't true either. Yes, it is you alone taking the exam and receiving the grade. But there will always be that person(s) who will tell you what they think is right for you. It can be a parent, professor, coach, peer, sibling, anyone at all; and it's because they aren't in your shoes. They can know everything about the situation or nothing at all, it doesn't matter, that person will tell you their opinion whether you want to hear it or not.
As an university student you are put on display, people will watch you, and this is just the start. As soon as you graduated high school you became a peak in interest. Now people aren't watching you for entertainment, but for their own curiosity. You are someone new entering the work and academic world, the new kid on the adult play ground. Which path are you going to take? Which people will you associate with? Where will you end up in four years, eight years, or twelve years?
You're a new person now, take advantage of it. If you didn't like yourself in high school, perfect opportunity to change. A university is the place where a person will find out who they want to be and how they want to seen. Now with this said, if someone else is sponsoring your education, both parties need to establish boundaries. Not in the sense of academic choice, but rather in the sense of social.
Some people will go off to college or will turn eighteen years old and think they are invincible, no one can control them anymore. This is not the case, especially if someone else is paying for you to attend the university. Going off to college and coming back home with a lot of piercings or tattoos that were not allowed during your time at home will not go over well. Let's say your parents are paying for you, it is a partnership which means both parties need to communicate. You are no longer at home for them to watch you; which means if something is wrong they won't know until you say something.
Good luck to you!
