I have been asked numerous time in my collegiate career what I am learning in class, what my major is, and if I am finding it interesting, but to be honest, the majority of lessons that have stuck with me were learned outside of the classroom. Here are five real-life lessons that being a college student has taught me:
1. You are never too old for a nap
I remember when I was younger I absolutely dreaded nap time. Now I am about to be 22 years old and I live for taking naps. I nap every time that I get a chance. The more sleep, the better. College is stressful and often you are burning the candle at both ends, so a much-needed nap is essential.
2. Find a balance
College has taught me that is important to find a balance between your work life and your social life. If you never reward yourself for all the hard work you are doing at the library, you're eventually going to go insane. There is nothing wrong with treating yourself to a fun weekend after a long, hard week; however, when the amount of fun that you are having gets in the way of your school work or job, that is when you run into trouble. College teaches you how to master a perfect balancing act between your work and social life.
3. Change is inevitable, you have to be open to it
College is a huge transition period for us. It is the first time you have a real taste of independence and are living on your own. You have to find a new set of friends, adjust to sharing a tiny room, and navigate your way through the next four years of your life. College teaches you that change is inevitable, and the more open you are to it, the better off you are going to be. Change is scary, but college teaches you how to handle it.
4. You are never too old to still need your parents
Remember when you were in high school and couldn’t wait to get away from your parents? Remember when you spent the better part of your teenage years wholeheartedly believing that every parenting attempt was actually a ploy to ruin your life? That will change when you get to college. You will learn to appreciate all that your parents have done for you and be over the moon to see them when you go home for holiday breaks. You will find yourself calling home to your parents with questions about job applications, cooking inquiries, and sometimes just to hear their voices.
5. You can't always be perfect, don't be too hard on yourself
Classes get harder in college, you are faced with more decisions than you were accustomed to making at home, and your relationships become more mature and complicated as you grow older. Somewhere along the way, you are going to fail a test or maybe even a class. You are going to do something stupid that upsets someone you care about. You are going to learn that you are human. Allow all the mistakes that you make during college to shape you into a better person.
