I recently realized, with no insignificant amount of shock and horror, that I am almost done with college. I have one more semester as a junior, than my last year of college. (Gah! I know! I'm not ready!)
So, with out further ado, I present you the list of the top ten things I have learned in college.
1: Don't ever, ever listen to anyone.
I know this sounds like terrible advice, but I'm serious. I'm not saying don't listen to maybe you're wisest best friend or your grandmother but you have to be really careful. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut. I absolutely 100% believe in trusting your intuition. This applies in crew (sometimes listening to my coach gets me in more trouble than if I ignored him and just did what I was going to do in the first place) and it applies even more with your peer group. Whether it's your best friends, your enemies or buzzfeed (buzzfeed hates me) everyone has a set of deadlines that you absolutely must reach by 21 or 22 or 35 or whatever. Yeah right! Believe me I read the article on Buzzfeed called "22 Reasons being 22 is Awesome". Ok, none of them apply to my life remotely. And I'd be willing to bet that there are a ton of people out there in their twenties who's lives don't fit this pattern. In fact, I know there are. So the moral of the story here is don't worry so much about keeping up with the deadlines we create for ourselves. And don't let yourself be pressured into doing things you don't want to do. (If you are about to start college this goes for you especially!!)
2: Being a geek is cool!
You don't have to be all about school- you can be a geek about anything. Baking, football, playing the guitar, fashion, really, anything you want. My point is, find your thing/things and stick with it. I'm a geek about plenty of things. Crew. Books. Dogs... you can pretty much guess!
3: Manage your time
I know people say manage your time well, but that can be hard when you're overloaded with homework or internships or social obligations or, more likely, all of the above! When I have multiple things to do at once, it becomes really hard to get anything done and I get anxious and start procrastinating. I find the best way to get what I need done is to dedicate the whole day to my work. Although that sounds like a lot, I take a lot of breaks. For instance I might work for thirty minutes and do a fifteen minute exercise video, work another 45 minutes and go get coffee work for thirty minutes, chat with my friend on facebook for fifteen minutes, work, take a lunch break, work, etc... You should really experiment to make sure you find out the best technique for you. For some people, frequent breaks would drive them nuts! So whatever works for you, make sure you arrange your schedule that you have time to finish your assignments and studying in the way that works best for you.
4: Branch out
You don't have to go crazy, but it's nice to try something new now and again. I'm the type of person who has anxiety about the unknown, so I like to set a requirement for myself- I try something new every year. That's how I joined Amnesty International and became an SGA rep. I'm thinking of volunteering at an animal shelter next semester or more likely over the summer when I have time.
5: Your life= Your business
Other people's life= not your business
According to my sister, I take the principle of minding my own business to the extreme. But I think your job is to work hard to be a good person and live the life you want to live. Gossip isn't really any of your business. There's a lot of gossip going around my life, just because of the nature of sports teams. I'm not against listening to friend's who want to vent. In fact I think it's good to vent. But I try to be civil to everyone regardless of personal feelings and anything you tell me, stays with me.
6: Try to stay organized
I'M SO BAD AT THIS!
But really, your sanity will thank you.
ps: if you're bad at this, like me, Pinterest has a lot of ideas to make it easier. Also, the college prepster has this tab on her website that is literally devoted to organization. I wish I had her skills!
7: Take care of yourself
By now I've figured out my body pretty well. I have to workout at least once a day or I just don't feel right. People are different. I know my body. If I don't eat at regular levels my blood sugar gets all wacky and I get headaches and blurry vision. I like barely eat meals! It's weird, but I'm definitely a grazer. Whatever it is for you, maybe you need to eat a balanced meal three times a day, maybe you absolutely must shower twice a day, maybe you have to talk to your friends every day, you know yourself best.
8: have a little faith!
You just have to believe that everything will be ok!
9: Nobody's perfect
Making mistakes is good! Try not to beat yourself up over your mistakes- they're how you learn.
10: Have fun!
Sometimes you have to relax and enjoy the ride.
And there you go. My ten best tips for surviving college.
TTYL,
-Emme
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