College is a crazy time in our lives. For most of us, this is the first time we are truly treated like adults. Our teachers do not force us to come to class, make us ask to use the bathroom and leave it up to us to remember when big assignments or tests occur. This is the first time we do not have our parents by our side to make sure we are doing what we are supposed to do. This is the first time that everything we choose to do is completely up to us. You may feel like you sometimes are messing everything up, but I am here to tell you that you are not a screw-up. You are learning.
It's OK to not do well in your classes.
It will happen. You will choose to do other things rather than study. That is OK. If you do not do well during one semester, you are not ruined. You will have to work hard to bring your GPA up, but you can do it. Use your failure to make you try harder the next semester.
You may change your major.
When you're 18 years old, you feel like you have your life all figured out. You may come into college as a pre-med student, and your plan may be to become a doctor. You may get to college and realize that is not your passion. That is OK. You are learning about yourself. It is OK to change your major. You will potentially be doing whatever you go to school for for the next 40 to 50 years of your life. You may think your passion is to be a doctor and to cure people for the rest of your life. You may realize your passion is really to teach, counsel or work in a human resource department. Whatever it is, do it.
You will make a ton of mistakes.
You may do a lot of things that you can never tell your parents. That's OK. The main goal of college is to receive a degree. I hate to say it, but another important goal of college is having fun, and figuring out what works along the way. Finding out what works along the way is a trial and error process that will be very time-consuming. You have to figure out what works for you. Also, remember you are young, and if you do not make mistakes now, how are you ever going to have any stories (or wisdom) to share when you are older? It is better to make mistakes now than to wait until you are out of college.
You will make the same mistakes over and over again.
You will probably make the same mistake a few times. You will expect a different outcome each time, and sadly, it won't happen. The mistakes that you make might be fun. The outcome usually is not as fun. You will learn from the mistake after a while (it just might take you some time to realize what you really want).
You will sleep through class.
Hopefully, you do not make this mistake often. but it will happen. You will miss something important, but it will be alright. Missing one class will not kill you.
You will trust someone you shouldn't have trusted.
You will trust someone that did not deserve it. It could be a friend, roommate or significant other. Whoever it might be, you will feel stupid. It is not your fault that you trusted them. They deceived you, and you will keep your guard up and not let something like that happen again.
College will put you on your butt more times than you think. College is hard. Just because college will be difficult does not mean you need to be difficult on yourself. When you fail, you need to brush it off and strive to do better. College will be the best time of your life. College will also be the time you learn the most in life. You will burn meals, do poorly on exams, go out the night before class, meet people that will do you wrong, feel stupid when you fail and maybe even go into a life crisis because your life is not working out the way you planned. My advice to you is to breathe. You are learning life lessons no matter what you do. When you fail, strive for better and use the lesson you learned to your advantage. College is your first step into the adult world. Accept the challenge. You are not a screw-up — you are finding your way, one lesson at a time.
