Before throwing my cap in the air and taking a run through my school’s water fountain, I decided to take a minute to reflect on what these past four years have taught me about people, adulthood and ultimately, myself. Knowing what I know now, here's what I would want my freshman self to know.
1. It's OK to not be perfect. Everyone around you is stressing out about something, too.
Just because you don’t have a 4.0 GPA doesn’t mean you’re not killing it in school. Doing the best you can and dedicating as much time as possible to each of your classes without losing your mind is the only thing that matters. Life will eventually get messy and not everything will be sunshine and rainbows. If everything goes perfectly, there is nothing to gain from the college experience. The greatest lessons lie within the worst mistakes.
2. Not everyone you meet in college will be your best friend.
There will be some people that will simply be passing souls in your time as an undergrad. Don’t be upset when you’re not their maid of honor at their wedding or the godmother of their future children. Your friendship may not last past Friday nights at Bootleg Manning's and that’s fine. The people you were close with in college will ultimately end up in the same slush pile as those you knew in high school. Sometimes people are meant to be in your life for a limited time only, and that's the way it should stay.
But when you find those select few friends who were with you all four years, whether it be late night study sessions or final exam support groups, hold on to them and try your best to stay in contact and don't let them go.
3. Let yourself live. Enjoy the experience.
Spending the weekend studying for a test on Monday is one thing, but surrounding your entire life around having your nose in a book is no way to live. The thing about college is that it's supposed to try to mold you into a better person by providing you with experience and opportunity to grow. You can make the Dean's List and still see a movie with your friends on a Friday night.
Learning to balance work, school and a growing social life is the key to having a successful college experience. Studying is obviously inevitable and essential, but sometimes you need to say "YOLO" and take a step back to refresh yourself.
4. Think really hard about choosing your major.
While Nursing and Business are at the top of the 10 Most Popular college majors, remember that they are not the only fields in the world that need workers. Choosing a major in the field you are passionate about is crucial to your professional development. If you hate your major, you'll hate the job. If you hate the job, you're bound to make less money because you won't have the drive to go to work.
If you love to write, go for it. If you love a good math problem, take up a mathematics major and pair it with an education degree. If you love a subject enough, you will find a way to make money off of it. Just because everyone is becoming a nurse does not mean you have to and if you wanted to become one, nothing is stopping you. Take the first year of college to focus solely on choosing the major that is fit for you, and how you can make money off of it.
It'll be tough but you'll thank yourself for doing the extra research later.
5. No matter how long it takes you, just finish.
College is tough. There will be times where you have three deadlines on the same day, not enough money for that fourth cup of coffee and zero patience for the two three-hour lecture courses you have. My advice to you is to just keep going.
Nothing is more valuable than your education. Always do what's necessary to make school a priority, because you will only benefit from it. Us millennials are accustomed to being overworked and over-stressed, but in the end, you'll have a degree in hand and a successful career. Don't quit because it's too hard, or too expensive because there is always a way to get through that.
You can sleep when you graduate. Right now, it's hustle time.
