Going to college is great! It's like riding a bike. Once you get the hang of it, you can stumble and roll around as you please.
My experience in college can be summed up into a couple life lessons, but I'm going to list the most crucial topic points for all of those heading into their first year of college.
1.) Do not forget your keys. I can't tell you the number of times I've been with my friends and we've had to wake someone up or bother the on-call RA for a lockout. Seriously, they don't mind but if it's 2 a.m. and you're hammered doing a lockout, they will mind. And when the RA minds, you're in trouble. So do yourself a favor and glue your keys to your forehead or something.
2.) Do not park in the teachers' lot. For some reason teachers get awesome parking spots and students get to trek two miles to class but teachers get REALLY pissed if you park in "their spot," so don't park there. Plus, campus safety puts annoying orange stickers on your car that say "excuse you, this is not your spot"—as if we're in high school with assigned parking spots. Whatever, forget abou the teachers parking lot. You'll get in great shape parking in the designated lots and you'll learn short cuts to class ASAP.
3.) Do not go out drinking during finals. Does this really need a huge explanation? I mean, it's a bad idea. Don't do it. Even if you don't study the entire night before, you don't want to take finals with a hangover.
4.) Actually do some studying before finals week. Again, another no-brainer. But I frequently find myself in the company of those complaining about not knowing anything on their finals because they haven't opened a book all term. Yes, I am one of those jackasses. But I'm working on it, okay?
5.) Not every feeling requires a reaction. This is a little more complicated, but what I mean is let it go. Not every heartbreak and friend-breakup is the end of the world. Seriously, once a break comes things roll off and are forgotten about. Don't bring the past up in the hopes of changing it. Acknowledge your past, talk about what you need to talk about and move forward. My favorite saying is "Drink some coffee, throw your hair in a bun, put on some gangsta rap and handle it."
So hopefully this helps make your college experience less intimidating. If it doesn't, follow said advice, put on gangsta rap and handle it. You got this.
