It’s now the second week of classes here at Texas A&M and I just have a few things that I think every single freshman on any campus should hear:
It’s okay to be a “nerd”
You know in high school, you don’t really have to try to make the grades- at least I didn’t have to. College is a whole different ball game- you actually have to apply yourself and you’re actually expected to. It’s okay to spend all hours in the library and it’s okay to be that kid in class that needs to ask a few extra questions, chances are there are others needing the clarification also. Here’s the thing, college is hard and it’s not cool to be that kid who’s slacking on his education that some people would kill to gain. Study groups and sessions are actually a more common way that people hang out these days and a lot gets learned and accomplished through them.
No one cares what your high school career was like:
Some people are extremely successful in high school and that is a very great thing to be able to claim, however, you’re now on to a new chapter in your life and you should treat it as such. College is a new start, even if you continue to play sports, judge livestock, etc. – it’s a clean slate for everyone that often becomes the time when you will truly become the person that you’re meant to be in this life. I’m not saying that high school is irrelevant and you shouldn’t throw those memories away, but they most certainly don’t define you and you shouldn’t expect others to care what kind of big shot you were back in the day.
It's okay to fail
Okay, it’s totally not okay to fail, but failing is a part of college- it has to happen and it will happen. A straight-A student in high school can be an average student in college classes and it has absolutely nothing to do with how smart a kid is. College is hard, significantly harder than any high school class and I don’t believe that it is said to incoming students enough that they are not expected to get straight A’s on every assignment, essay, exam, and quiz. Too much pressure is put on these days when the truth is, a grade doesn’t define you and your GPA will be okay if you write one bad paper.
You will meet friends that will literally last you a lifetime
There will be multiple days throughout your college career that you feel like you can’t catch up on work and sleep and there will be multiple days where you think you literally will not be able to get out of bed- start telling yourself now that one bad day is just one bad day. Come finals and midterm week, you will a have a string of sleepless nights and you will feel like you have learned nothing in your classes- value those “bad” days that are actually you just being dramatic because you have an 8AM.
You WILL be okay, it's just a rough day
Amidst the long nights that you will spend studying and those nights that you spend too much money at the bar, you will meet people that will literally stand next to you in your wedding and attend your children’s birthday parties. You wont even realize it’s happening- just one day it will hit you, that you have so many people to be thankful for thanks to your awful college classes.
College is hard, but it is also one of the most amazing experiences you will ever have in your life and every minute of it is valuable. The next four years of your life will literally fly by- hold on to your asses kids and be sure to enjoy the ride.
