College. There are a lot of mixed emotions when it comes to that simple seven letter word, I know personally I find myself already stressed when i hear it. But college isn't all bad, being for a year and a half already I've learned so much. Not only about being a good student but learning to be an independent person. Aka, an adult. Now I know what your thinking, "Ugh, not another on of those articles." Where I list off a bunch of pretty basic things. But in all seriousness I wish I knew these things before I came to college.
1. Know What You're Paying For.
Of course this one is kind of being a no brainer, college is expensive. You're fresh faced and just graduated high school, you're not really all that concerned about how you're going to be paying for it all. Let me tell you this I was one of those people... Sort of. Though I was getting financial aid and I am lucky enough to VA benefits I really didn't realize how tight money was going to be. My advice is know what you're paying for, look at your tuition and question, "Do I really need this all campus meal plan?" or "Why am I being charged this?" There are quite a few things that I have learned that I don't exactly need to be paying for. After going through all those decide whether it's appropriate to get a job. Having a little extra money never hurt anyone, especially if you have time for one. There are a lot of job opportunities on and off campus, plus it helps build up your resume with experience.
2. Finding Your Tribe Can Be Hard.
Know this, you are more than likely not going to keep the same friends you had in high school. People change and sometimes for better or for worse and as young adults we tend to go through the most change at this time in our lives. We move to a new city, get a different job, meet someone, hell some of us have already started a family. Whatever it may be just know that it's okay if you don't have many friends when you first get to college. I know my freshman year was kind of a lonely time, at first I didn't have any friends and it was hard. But even when I did make a few friends I still didn't feel like a belonged but I was scared to venture out because why would I? I already had a group, it seemed like everyone around me found who they belonged with and that I was the only one who wasn't happy with where she was at.
Don't be afraid to venture out and meet new people. People in your life will come and go and it doesn't have to be a bad thing. Once you get out of the comfort zone everything else seems to fade away, never surround yourself with people who are negative and make you feel like you don't belong. Always strive to find your tribe and find people who have things in common with you. Get involved with floor activities or if you don't live on campus, get involved with activities that happen on campus! There's always something going on so when you see a flyer stop and read it. It may be something your interested in.
4. It’s easy to get caught up in the party life.
When most people think of college they think of football games, tailgates, and frat parties. They’re not wrong: there's a lot of parties and it's so easy to get into the routine of going out everyone weekend. Drugs and alcohol are so easy to get ahold of and it's easy to get addicted to some of those things. College is hard and some people go to a party to look for an escape, but for some people they look for that escape all the time and it becomes a problem.
5. You may not know what you want to do right away.
Going into college I was so sure as to what I wanted to do even though I had people constantly questioning me about if I was going to get a job and be successful. I wanted to do something that I love but I soon learned that maybe it wasn’t something that I truly loved. I began to look into other majors and talk to people who have graduated and most of them said that they graduated with one degree and ended up in a field completely different. It took a lot of figuring out who I was as a person and how I was going to get my voice out in this daunting world we live in.
When first starting out in college you may not know what you want and that's okay. Take the time to take some generals, make friends, have fun, and just figure yourself out. When people tell you to “enjoy the college experience,” take their advice and do what feels right for you, not what other people think you should do.