This one's for the incoming college freshman who are as scared and clueless as I was a year ago. Whether this is the first college-related article you've read or the 30th, here's the most important summer homework you'll ever do.
This morning, my Timehop showed me that one year ago today, I was buying dorm supplies. How can that have been a year ago?!
I, too, was spending hours on Pinterest boards and Google searches, looking for the perfect "checklist" of what to bring with me. I had no idea what to expect. And since college move-ins are starting soon, I thought I'd give you my tips for college success!
I hope this helps! Make sure you share if you enjoy it!
1. Let your parents help you move in.
Mom is going to want to take pictures of you and your roommate. She will want to put your clothes away, make your bed just right, and set up your furniture.
Let her.
Dad will want to congratulate you on pushing your family name in the right direction. And he might do it loudly, in front of everyone. He will also try to get to know your roommate through a classic game of 20 Questions.
Let him.
You are a product of 19 years of work from your parents (or whoever raised you). You are now being let into the world without their constant guidance for the first time. This is a huge transition for them, especially if you're the first or the last child in the family. Give them time to accept that. Your roommate, floormates, and campus-mates are all going through the same thing. It's not embarrassing. It's normal.
The more you humor them, the less likely that they will bug you 24/7. Just remember that when you're getting a 12AM call from your mother on a Friday night.
2. Don't try to do everything at once.
This campus is likely going to be your home for the next four years, and no matter what the size is of your college, you will have a lot to soak in.
Don't worry about that dorm-packing checklist. Pack the essentials, and the things you know you'll need, then feel out your room/classes to decide what more you should get. If you have bedding, clothes, toiletries, pens/pencils, notebooks, a planner, and YOUR TEXTBOOKS, you will be able to make it through the first week!
Don't worry about hitting your first college party on the first night! Don't feel like you have to go to a party! You have four years (dozens of Friday and Saturday nights) to socialize and party. If you're ready to do it, then go have a ball! If you're tired and need to sleep, don't feel guilty about it.
It's okay to say no to campus organizations. Everyone is going to want you to join their activities, and you are going to be full of interests and a desire to fit in. Don't overwhelm yourself: you will be busier than you think!!
3. Your RA is not out to get you...
A Resident Assistant (RA) lives on a floor to build community and keep chaos from forming on a floor of a residence hall. They are a college student just like you, and typically get compensated with a free room for the academic year.
As a PA (Peer Assistant) at my college, I can assure you that we do not want make your life miserable. You might get written up for really obscure things, or you may be part of a huge alcohol bust.
Want to know how to not get in trouble? First of all, if you're a drinker, or a pot smoker, don't do that stuff in your building. Your RA is trained and required to document any incident where they catch alcohol, marijuana, or other policy violations occurring. Keeping it off campus is the best idea (other than not doing it) that you'll ever have! You'll be happy, your RA will be happy, and the higher powers-at-be at your college sure as heck will be happy!
That being said, if you get caught, be nice to your RA. It isn't any more comfortable for them to confront you than it is for you to be confronted. Also, don't try to trick your RA. We're college kids, too. We know more than you think!
4. ...Your RA is actually a good friend to have!
The reason that people like me choose to have a job in residence life is that we get to know the residents that live on our floor. I am looking forward to making my crazy door decorations and bulletin boards between August and May, as well as sitting down and talking with my residents while we let steam out about our lives. Your RA is there to listen to you, and anything that you say will be kept between you and your RA. Use them as a source. It's what we're here for.
...we usually host events with free food. And you should always go to those if you can.
5. Study. Study? Study!!!
You're in college. You're likely paying thousands of dollars a year to be sitting in a 50-year-old desk, to spend four years working towards a signed piece of paper from Office Max.
Invest money in a good planner. And use it in whichever way makes sense to you. YOUR planner doesn't have to make sense to anyone other than YOU. Mark down classes, tests, due dates, time to workout, time to do homework, rehearsals, anything that is applicable to your day.
Yes. Go crazy with the sticky notes, highlighers, page bends, X's and O's...whatever helps you stay on track! Your goal should be to have your life so together that you don't have to worry about anything other than yourself during the times that things aren't written in your schedule.
6. Me time. You need it. You deserve it.
Pack books, a DS or GameBoy, or anything that puts you in a calm state. Always put aside at least an hour a day where you can sit down just to breathe and relax. YOU are your first priority in college, and there are no exceptions!
7. Call or visit your parents.
Yes. You're independent. You're finally living on your own! Just remember that, whether you're missing them or not (you may be too busy to even think about your home life!), your parents and family are missing you. Call them just to see how life has been. If you can go home for dinner, or even just to stop by and say hi for a few minutes, do it every week or two.
8. Make new friends, and keep in touch with old ones.
Inevitably, you'll need someone to vent to about classes, your social life, anxiety, or whatever it may be. Your parents (unless you grew up very close to them) may not be the ones to talk to about that. As people get older, life gets more complex, and so college will seem like simple times to your parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents, etc. They may not remember that college can be just as stressful to an 18-year-old as their current adult lives are to them.
With that said, it is vital that you make friends on campus. You will find friends at parties, in your department, in your building, in gen-eds, and basically everywhere. They know the struggles of your campus and your classes, and they can relate to you the most right now.
But also keep in touch with your friends at home! They know how you work more than anyone, and will help you through this, just like everything else.
9. Make friends with your roommate!
You will get more personal with your roommate in this one year than you have gotten with anyone in your last 18 or so years of life.
You will have troubles with your roommate at some point in the year, but you can and will make it work! Have a talk with them at the beginning of the year about your wants regarding people visiting, time to study, alone time, etc...they will understand, because they are on the same boat! Your roommate doesn't have to be your best friend, but you are living with them for the next year, so make the best of it! Make memories, eat lunch together, get to know each other, and don't be afraid to be yourselves around one another!
10. Speaking of... Be yourself, forever.
If there is one thing that sucks about coming home from college, or seeing old friends come home from college, it's seeing the friends that have changed for the worse. Don't allow yourself to conform to what a certain group wants, just because you want to be accepted. In college, being yourself is going to be what makes people like you. Whether you're a geek, a jock, a gamer, or just flat-out weird, don't be afraid to show your campus the real you! If you party, then go party and have fun! If you don't, don't feel like you need to party to prove something about yourself. The same goes for gaming, socializing, going out to certain places, participating in certain activities. Do what makes you happiest.
College is the first chance you truly get at a fresh-start after puberty hits (as strange as that sounds), meaning that what people see is what they can expect to get for years to come. You will find your friends naturally in college, but if you hide your real personality, you won't be as happy these next four years as you should be. Make a crazy first impression: be nice, be accepting, and show others what makes you unique!
FINALLY...HAVE FUN.
College is going to be a great time for you. If you just remember to be yourself and do what makes you happy, it should be the best four years of your life. Study hard, play hard, and socialize hard. Make friends and colleagues that will last a lifetime.
And never forget where you came from.
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Thanks for reading! SHARE this with your friends, and spread the college joys to the world! Good luck this fall, if you're starting classes!
