So as my first semester of college draws to a close, I thought that it would probably be a good idea to share my knowledge with the world and show everyone what I've learned from the last four months (especially considering I have a bunch of friends from high school who are graduating in May and moving on into the big, bad world).
1. Even though tomorrow isn't the Due Date, today should be the Do Date
Procrastination is, honestly, probably my biggest enemy.
I have the world's worst habit of waiting until the night before a paper or a project is due, freaking out for an hour or two with a blank document pulled up on my laptop, and then panic-writing my way through a paper. Don't be me.
Take time out of each day, whether it be an hour or two hours or whatever, and start your projects. Study for that test that you're not sure you're ready for. Write the opening paragraph to that paper that's not due for another two weeks. Make a planner. Do whatever it is you need to do so that you can keep on top of your assignments because believe me, just because you have until the end of the semester for your papers and projects to be due, doesn't mean the semester won't fly by and if you wait then you'll be staying up until 2 a.m. way too much to be healthy.
2. Take a break from time to time
Now, keep in mind that I'm not saying that school should be all-encompassing and should take up every waking moment of your life. Just because you're in college, it doesn't mean that you're not a teenager who deserves a moment to themselves from time to time. To help reduce stress, you should take the time out when you're feeling particularly burdened to just get out of your dorm room and go see a movie with friends (my friends and I went to see "Moana" twice in the past week, which probably wasn't the best thing to do but it was fun), or chill out in the library and read that book you've been meaning to open. Make sure you do your schoolwork, but also make time for other people and doing things that you think are fun. You'll meet a lot of people in college, and who knows? They might be into the same things you are.
3. Make sure you take care of yourself
Sometimes when you're on your own and you don't have to listen to your parents who tell you what to do, you forget that you should probably get out of bed for the day and go shower and eat food that didn't come out of a package that says "ramen" on it somewhere. I've had friends that have sometimes become so busy that they forget to eat or shower, and only remember to do either after three or four days whenever they have time to take a break and think about it. So take the time every day, no matter what you're doing, to sit down and eat a full meal and shower, even if you've got something due. Your health comes first, and most professors are understanding of that.
So, I think these are the top three things that I've really learned this semester, and hopefully you take my advice and don't try to rush into college blind. It sucks.
