5 Most Important Things I Learned in College
With my oldest niece entering her second year in college and my oldest nephew one year away from starting college, it got me thinking about my personal experience in college. I think it's safe to say, every one has a very different, very personal experience during their college years. It can depend greatly on a vast variety of factors, too many to even try to list. However, some of the ones I noticed to be of great importance are the school size, location, major, involvement in activities, and finally support system. These five factors thought me some important lessons that have molded the person I am today.
(1) School size matters and be ready for some culture shock! I went to a school that was 5 times the size of my home town's population in terms of total student enrollment. My home town has a population of roughly 5,000 people and I think I'm rounding up and being very generous. In other words my school's total enrollment my freshman year was 25,000! How did this effect me? Let's just say I was in culture shock my first year. We underestimate just how different and even similar our races and nationalities can be. I had to learn why people did things a certain way or had certain beliefs. It opened up a plethora of cultural experiences to me that helped me understand people better and be more accepting of those differences.
(2) Know your location! The town I'm from has zero stop lights. That's right you read that, zero. We have dirt roads and stop signs and everybody knows everybody. The first day my parents drove with me to my school we decided to stay at a relative's house and drive the 25 minutes to the school the next morning. That was my first experience driving a standard car in stop and go rush hour traffic, all while trying to not lose my parent's driving behind. Lesson learned. Rush hour sucks. Moving on.
(3) Trust in your passion! I was very close to doing computer science in college. On orientation day I saw the course list for this major and did a complete u-turn to the art department and chose graphic design instead. Good thing too, because every person I knew in college that was an engineering major always looked defeated, drained, and zombie-like come finals week. To give them credit, this was what they wanted, it was their passion. I was told by all my teachers in high school I was too good at math not to be an engineer. Thank you high school teachers for the compliment but had I chosen engineering I would have hated my college experience because of my lack of passion for this major. Yes, I still had countless late nights finishing big projects in design but I was happy because it was my passion. On top of that, this will be your career the rest of your life, so just think about that.
(4) Get involved! What's the point of going to college if all you're going to do is stay cooped up in your dorm room. College is about meeting new people and growing up through new experiences, especially your first two years. My advice is to get involved with organizations that spark your interest or suit your personality. There is no excuse for not finding something suitable, trust me, people come up with some pretty crazy organizations. Anime club anyone?
(5) Having a good support system is everything! You will experience all sorts of things in college both wonderful and fun as well as heart-breaking and shocking. The important thing to understand is you should not have to handle this alone. You are surrounded by so many other students feeling what you are feeling and probably going through similar experiences as you. These friends and mentors are the ones who will help you get through the bad and make the great times even greater! Not only that but with all the drinking and partying that does happen in a college campus, it's always safe to have a.) a designated driver and b.) someone to protect you in the many dangerous situations that sadly you may encounter.
So do you have any personal lessons or advice you want to share?
