I am here to give you all wonderful people the tea about my college experience. I am a senior, majoring in communications with a concentration in journalism. I have seen it all.

College, college, college, what a time to be alive. College is full of many things, things like adventures, parties, random road trips, drunken nights, extreme amounts of stress due to the lack of balancing everything, and most of all fun. College is fun. I have spent the best time of my life here and I am so grateful that I chose to go to college and attend East Carolina University.

BUT….

College has a lot of baggage that comes with it. Let's jump into what college has taught me over the last 3 ½ years.

1. Being authentic is SO significant. 

Love is kind.

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Loving yourself and showing who you really are to people is important. Many people come to college and want to reset their life, which I do not have a problem with, but resetting your life and remaining true to yourself is essential. Many people put on a façade about who they are and where they come from. I have remained true to myself throughout this process and I have had many people tell me that my personality is so rich and genuine. I have gained many friends and connections throughout college because of my authenticity. Be yourself.

2. Business is everything!

Let's get down to business.

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Business. College has taught me so much about conducting business. Handling your business is essential and many people do not know how to conduct business. No matter what field you go to in life, you will always need to know how to schedule with people, make executive decisions, and think everything out thoroughly.

3. People are your greatest resource. 

People. We all need each other.

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I learned this years ago from my paw paw. He has always taught me that people will be my greatest resource in life. I understood what that meant, but now I truly comprehend the significance of this statement. You will always need people. No matter how much you think you don't need them, you do. You meet a lot of people from different walks of life throughout college and it's important that you are always polite and conduct business well. Leaving a good rapport with someone can only help you in the future. You never know who you will need until the time comes.

4. Never Burn Bridges. 

Never burn a good bridge.

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Yes it's cliché, but it's so underrepresented. Somethings may not go well with people and you may not see eye to eye with someone, but DO NOT burn a bridge with them. This correlates with how people are your greatest resource. If you get into an argument with someone who can help you with an event you would like to put on for campus, and you never clarify with the person that it's all business and there's no issues, that person may not be as forgiving. You may need that person sooner than later and once that bridge is burnt there is no going back (majority of the time).

5. Follow your heart. 

Follow your heart.

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I know y'all are probably like, "Jada really?" Yes, it may seems lame or wack, but please hear me out (or read me out). College has taught me to do what makes me happy. The older you get, the more you realize this world is cold and insensitive. You will become lonely and miserable if you do not follow your heart and do what makes you happy. Don't let anyone make you feel like you being you is bad, it's a great thing and a powerful thing. No one can take it away from you. I learned to follow my heart after my freshmen year of college. It was worth it.

College is full of many things, but finding yourself is one of the better things. College has taught me to be a better person and to learn from the MANY MISTAKES I've made (there are so many). Knowledge really is power and college really is a life professor.