It's no secret that college is a place of learning; after all, that's essentially the whole point of college. However, since transferring to the College of Saint Elizabeth, I've learned some great lessons that prove that not all learning is done in the classroom.
1. Snapchat is a lifesaver
While I may not be thousands of miles from my friends, I’m also not only 30 minutes away. I’ll admit in a heartbeat that I miss all my community college friends, but at least Snapchat has proven it’ll always be there to help me feel as if I’m still there with them. It kind of sucks to not be able to go with them to Applebee’s after school anymore and make amazing memories, but at least we can still share all our college experiences for a maximum of 10 seconds.
2. There’s nothing wrong with spending the weekend in your room
Sometimes you just need a little “me time,” even if that means hardly leaving your dorm on the weekend. It gives you the chance to really focus on any schoolwork you should be getting ahead on, and it allows you to relax with show tunes blaring from the Bluetooth speaker you were smart enough to bring to college. Okay...maybe the show tunes part is just me, but you get what I mean. There’s no rule saying you can’t put social interaction on hold and just take care of yourself for a while.
3. Your friends are still your friends
This lesson sort of goes hand-in-hand with the Snapchat one, but sometimes you need more than 10 seconds to vent to friends about what life’s been throwing at you or even just to catch up. When I graduated from community college and moved on to the College of Saint Elizabeth, I’ll admit that I thought that was the end for a majority of my friendships. I wasn’t going to be there for another French class or Performing Arts Club meeting, and I wasn’t so sure we’d be texting 24/7. But I dropped in for a surprise visit a few weeks ago to help out at the annual haunted hayride, and was bombarded with hugs. And not those quick friendly hugs; no, these were hugs that almost crushed my ribs in the most wonderful way. I won’t lie, it was enough to almost make me cry happy tears over the fact they all missed me as much as I miss them.
4. College is only temporary
Sure, not everything goes perfect during college. You might oversleep and miss a class, or maybe you spill your pre-work coffee all over yourself five minutes before you're supposed to walk out the door; and, of course, there’s still some fake people lurking around, and there’s a huge chance you’ll fall for their tricks. If that happens, don’t beat yourself up over it. You won’t be spending the rest of your life in college, so don’t let temporary people have a lasting effect on you. It’s best to just accept the free lesson they’ve given you and continue on your path to success.Honestly, I can't wait to see what other lessons college has planned for me. I've got two years at the College of Saint Elizabeth, so I have a feeling I'll be learning plenty more before I graduate.