Two years ago, I started college as a happy, punctual, overly excited English major. One classmate even went as far as to call me an "adorable bright eyed and bushy tailed Freshman!" Two years is a long time when you're juggling a full course load and roughly 150 pages of reading every night and a job and what meager social life doesn't conflict with those things. So two years in (and with a little help from the Gilmores), here are my tips to surviving the humanities.
1. Sleep is for the weak
Balancing work, required reading, extracurriculars, and that 8AM German class is going to be hard. Sleep really just gets in the way. That is what coffee is for!
2. Have math and science majors pick up your backpack to establish dominance
Whatever you do, don't weigh your backpack. It's tempting, but those Norton Anthologies weigh a lot more than you realize. You don't want to know that on an average Wednesday, you're lugging about 21.7 pounds of books, notebooks, laptop, and coffee in your oversized but stylish messenger bag.
3. You don't need a life; Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are for writing papers and maybe sleeping
Weekends are a sacred time. They are a time to be alone with books, essays, junk food, and your bed.
4. Exhaustion is a sign of dehydration: drink more coffee (it's mostly water)
Actually, water is really important. Still, it doesn't hurt to know where all coffee shops on campus are, rank them based on best lattes, plain coffee, price, and cute baristas. Also, knowing which ones you can get to in the ten minute break between classes may save your life in November.
5. Yes, you do need all of those books.
This semester, I have a total of 24 required textbooks and just under $400.
6. Yes, you are reading all of those books.
Take six reading based classes, multiply by 50 pages a night-sometimes split up amongst multiple books...You're looking at about 300-600 pages of reading a week, 5 or six books, and a lot of Post-it notes!
7. Trust me, the business building is nicer
First semester I had a class in the Journalism building and it seemed so nice and pretty. Then I had a class in the fancy new Gatton Business Building with it's tech-savvy classrooms and beautiful lobby and people just handing you cups of coffee. It isn't fair. In the humanities building, the bathroom stalls are uneven and the whole building smells like self-loathing. If you have a study break, this is where you should be.
8. Don't put math and science classes off till your senior year
While you may never forget the Pythagorean Theorem or the fact that the Mitochondria is the power house of the cell, there is a lot more to college math and science. Every semester that goes by is more time to forget your clever calculator short cuts.
9. When it comes to interaction with people, a series of sighs, grunts, and erratic hand motions should suffice
When you have to write 15 pages, who has time for stringing together sensical sentences or even words. Everyone knows what you mean when you shake your hands at your book and groan. Trust me, we've all been there.
10. Everything you need is probably on the 4th or 5th floor of the library
Stairs. On the bright side, no one ventures up there, so you get a nice quite study place after your trip up Mount Doom.
11. Do not get attached to people who aren't stressed about something; they are either insane or seniors
Saying goodbye to friends sucks. Saying goodbye to those friends when they are going off to Graduate School in another state or even country is really bad. Just don't bother with it.
12. Find someone who handles the insanity in a similar manner. Breakdown partners will see you through the darkest of times (i.e. Midterms)
You're friends are invaluable: they can lend you books, catch you up on the reading you fell asleep doing, proofread that paper you've been staring at for the last 72 hours straight. They can also rant about annoying classmates and professors in the library at 4 am the day of the midterm. Find a friend that can do both!
13. So, about Grad School, Internships, Selling your soul to the Devil...you should already be looking. That is, if you want a job
Apparently, graduate school requirements and graduation requirements are NOT the same thing. The university may say that you need 3 semesters of a language to graduate and also asks that you have reading knowledge of a Italian or French, two semesters of Ancient Greek and 4 years of Latin to be considered for the Graduate program...
College is entirely what you make it and it lays the groundwork for who you will become. It can be overwhelming, scary, stressful, and crazy. It can leave you crying on the floor in the library at 2 AM. Assuming that it doesn't kill you, college could be some of the best years of your life (and at least your library will be smarter because of it!)
