Everyone has gone through it in some capacity. High school came to a sudden close, graduation came and went, and grad parties were attended and soon forgotten. Now, the most exciting next chapter of everyone's lives is about to commence. The best four years of one's life, right? College! Now, as we know all too well, the reality can be quite different than the dreams we had growing up. Reality in college can be even better than we ever dreamed of in the first place, but only if the necessary steps are taken to survive the first crucial semester. Time to kiss Mom and Dad goodbye, shed a tear or two, and learn how to not just survive in college, but thrive!
First things first, let's put the phones away! At least the first two weeks, put the phones away and embrace the college culture for the unknown. Our contemporary society has proven that living without constant connection to the social world can prove to be a daunting task. But, if meeting new friends and embracing new opportunities is on our agenda, then we certainly can't thrive by aimlessly peering into our friends waiting for some sort of stimulation. Go out and say hello to your floor mates. Crack a joke with the person sitting next to you in BIO 101. It doesn't take an extrovert to be able to put yourself out there and reap the fruits of your hard earned social labor.
Secondly, and this may be a hard pill for the aforementioned parents to swallow, but limit the Facetiming and Skyping (let's assume those are proper verbs for the sake of conversation) to a bare minimum for the first two weeks of the semester. Limit the incessant texting with the hometown friends to a bare minimum. You chose to go away for college (distance is relevant) meaning you consciously chose to get away from hometown life. So why would we restrict ourselves to only communicating with family and hometown friends? It's a fine line of course, but the sooner you ingratiate yourself into your respective college culture, the sooner the chips will begin falling your way!
Third of all, go to class! I know it might be cool to sleep in until noon then attend maybe one class and skip the rest because attendance isn't mandatory, but believe me when I say attending class alone can be the difference between an "A" and a "C." Sometimes in our younger undergrad years we tend to forget our purpose for being in college which is to get an education at an institution of higher learning. Quite frankly, attending class and interacting with the professors makes everything so much easier and will ease the transition from high school.
Fourth of all, eat well and eat often! The freshman 15 is not a myth and it's quite real. If anything, it's an understatement because it's easy to rack up fifteen pounds in a couple of weeks with the smorgasbord available on campus. Learn some basic nutrition and maybe even track your macros using MyFitnessPal, because it can make the difference between a healthy lively body and a body that can't stay awake past lunchtime. Sugar cookies are not your friend, but four liters of water a day certainly can be!
Finally, just enjoy the process and don't forget to stay positive. People have a tendency of wanting something so badly that when they finally achieve their goal, they forget to enjoy the fruits of their labor. It's about the journey, not the destination as we often hear. Everyone goes through some sort of anxiety and homesickness when they enter college and it's imperative to know you're not alone. There's always a helping hand ready to extend itself, but you need to leave the dorm room and explore the world of university. It's a grand ole time and it doesn't need to be stressful. You waited 18 years for this moment, so kiss the parents goodbye and let's get going. Time is of the essence!
