You walk into your first lecture of freshman year and you've mentally prepared yourself to finally learn something that you'll actually use in your life. You've prepared yourself to soak up as much information as possible and get out as fast as possible.
However, what you didn't prepare for is what your textbooks could never teach you.
1. You know absolutely nothing.
I have spent many hours a week with my mind turned complete mush and my jaw nearly hitting the floor. The thought tends to cross my brain, "how the heck am I ever going to know all there is to know?" And then I remember these professors are about three times my age, and many of them feel they still know nothing.
2. Maybe, just maybe, your parents knew best.
How much detergent goes into a medium-sized load of laundry? Call mom. Got a stain on your favorite shirt? Call mom. That boy your mom told you to avoid broke your heart? Still call mom. Realize it's been six months since your mom reminded you to wash your bedsheets? Do not call mom.
3. You are responsible for yourself.
No one is here to clean up after you, and no one is here to fight your battles. Growing up means learning that there are repercussions for your actions and having your parents call the school because you can't afford this months school bill just isn't going to cut it.
4. It's okay if you don't get straight A's.
Basing your self-worth off of grades is not okay. Sometimes life is just going to get extremely hectic and you're not going to get that extension granted, and that is okay. In ten years, the relationships you built will matter far more than that one 'C' you got in Quantum Physics.
5. Many situations are what you make of it.
Life is going to throw you curveballs you weren't prepared for. Maybe the college you chose isn't as great as the brochures showed. However, getting yourself all caught up in the negatives will keep you there. Sometimes, you're going to just have to make the best of a crappy situation.
6. Get off campus.
You are only here for four years; this will not be your permanent home and there's a whole world out there. Hiding away in your dorm from the troubles of life will do nothing but make the blow of real life that much harder when you graduate.
7. Not every guy or girl you meet will be your soulmate.
He or she may be super cute, they may share your major, and they may be just as obsessed with "Grey's Anatomy" as you are, but this doesn't mean he or she is the one. This doesn't even mean that they are someone you should date. Too many of you say you want to avoid drama in college, but you're walking yourself right into it.
8. Saying "no" to another responsibility is okay.
At this point in your life, many adults are going to tell you that real life is much harder, and they're probably right, but your reality is your reality. Stress is stress no matter the age, and learning balance of responsibilities is best learned at a younger age.
