The 6 Best Everyday Life Decisions I Made in College
The decisions I thank my lucky stars for.
Have you ever heard of the saying, “We all make mistakes. It’s how we come back from the mistakes that matter”? Probably. But, I’d like to think that mistakes aren’t the only things we can learn from. In fact, we probably have as much to gain from what other people did right as what they did wrong. This piece isn’t going to tell you what I did wrong, but it is going to highlight some things that have made me a content Cal Bear who feels like she hasn’t missed out on anything that she wanted.
Let’s get started.
When I came to college, I knew I was going to change. There’s no way I was going to move across the country to live with people I didn’t know (who became my best friends), learn things I had never been introduced to, and start the beginning of what will be the rest of my adult life, just to keep doing the things I did in high school. Hell No. But, in knowing that I would change, I wanted to make sure that I was changing for the better and making decisions that added to my life. I left no room for anything that wasn’t serving me. This doesn’t mean I didn’t do anything I didn’t want to do or was hard, it just means that I am committed to leveling up in every way. And, you can’t level up with things that hold you down.
I learned very quickly that Cal is unforgiving and unrelenting. No Golden Bear makes it through Cal with their handheld. That’s just not how it works at a public school that serves over 40,000 students at a time. But, no Golden Bear makes it through Cal by themselves either. So, I knew I had to lean on myself because I am a big believer that if you want something done right, you do it yourself. But, even more importantly, you have to have friends who uplift you and help you and inspire you.
1. Standing Lunches (literally any meal) with my best friends
The best decision that I made starting freshman year was schedule standing lunches with my friends. Why does it have to be scheduled? Because you are busy. A typical Cal student will juggle 4–5 classes, join a student organization, fit limited time in the schedule to eat, and spend more time than one would expect just walking to wherever that person needs to go. So, unless you have mutual classes, the same breaks, or live together, it gets super difficult to hang out with your friends. You aren’t a bad person for not seeing your friends all the time. Your friends aren’t bad people for not seeing you all the time. It’s just the luck of the draw. But, by having a standing lunch, you put it into a calendar and it becomes a habit, something to look forward to every week. It was best way for me to see the important people in my life consistently. And, it was also a good way to try every restaurant on Southside.
2. Make a bCal (Berkeley Calendar from your email)
Speaking of calendars, my bCal is my life. No literally. Everything that I do is scheduled into my bCal. Classes, club meetings, deadlines, lunches with my friends, gym sessions, and trips each get their own color and block of time. Seriously, my calendar looks like a rainbow.
It is the best organizational tool you will have to make sure that you are exactly where you need to be at any given time. And, it helps to make sure you don’t promise to be two different places at the same time. This isn’t Hogwarts and you aren’t Hermione. But, the bCal is magical. Not only does it hold all of your plans, but it also has limited access to the schedules of ANY other person with a berkeley.edu email. As long as the other person uses their bCal, you can see when they are busy. So, if you want to ask someone to go on a coffee chat or date, you can check if they are free beforehand.
What about the people who you want to talk to but don’t have a bCal, i.e. your home friends? Just because you are busy and living your best college life, doesn’t mean you don’t miss your high school bestie. I’m an OOS, I don’t have the luxury of driving an hour home to go visit my family or friends.
3. Do not forget to call your friends from home.
For my first year at Cal, I had to rely on Facetime to see my family and friends from home. Talking to them was a chunck of time I was afforded to escape the bubble of Cal and spend some time with some important people to my heart. People say friendships that last for more than 7 years are friendships for life. Not forgetting to call your friends is the way to maintain that friendship throughout college. Not only do I get to hear their crazy stories, but I also get to share my experiences with people who have no idea what I’m talking about and that’s so refreshing.
Another thing that served me was working out regularly. Freshman 15, who? Working out doesn’t have to mean anything crazy, but it does involve moving your body and sometimes getting your heart rate up. No matter what activity is your cup of tea, be it running, playing sports, doing yoga, going on a hike, or lifting, working out isn’t just good for your body, it’s good for your soul.
4. Work out consistently
If nothing else, working out is a break for your brain from academics and anything else. It’s the time and space you hold where every breath you take is intentionally yours. Now, the keyword here is “consistently”. Hiking up to the Big C once a semester and nothing else defeats the purpose of the mindfulness that one can gain from working out. Doing things over and over again makes a habit and habits are powerful. If you can choose to make training your body and mind a habit, just imagine how powerful that could be. So, whatever consistently means to you, do that. Release those endorphins. Don’t cheat time away from yourself.
If the benefiting your soul thing kind of went over your head, here’s another reason to work out. It’ll carry you through the entirety of a game day. Game days are some of the best days. It’s a fantastic mini-break where you get to enjoy your time as a student, hang out with your friends, and eat hot dogs that you bought from Top Dog that you swear just tastes better than a hot dog from Top Dog on a day that wasn’t a game day. It’s a well-deserved reset from the monotony of everyday life when you get to take a deep breath and just enjoy yourself. It’s a day-long party celebrating Cal spirit without regard for whether or not our football team wins later that day. It’s fun. It’s exhilarating. And, it is literally a day-long ordeal.
- You wake up in the morning
- Start blasting music as you get ready with your friends.
- You trek it to frat row.
- Dance on tables for hours.
- You trek it to Memorial Stadium.
- Spend the 3-hour game standing on the bleachers because everyone is standing and you want to be able to *see* the field.
- You trek it home.
- Party at night.
- Go to bed at an ungodly hour.
5. Gameday, Party and, Go to sports events (Not during a pandemic though)
Speaking of Gamedays. Why is this a good idea? Because go bears.
Tailgates and game days are quintessential Cal activities that you will never experience again after you graduate. I’m told that there is value in things that are scarce and finite (shout out Macroeconomics). Let me reiterate, game days are just so damn fun. And, we support our athletes. I don’t make the rules.
Moving on to a more serious note, we go to the #1 Public University in the United States and the 4th best university overall according to U.S. News. Not to toot our own horns but this means Cal students are in a great position to advance our careers professionally. And, we don’t have to wait to do it. If you have a resume and you can write a cover letter, you have everything you need to apply for an internship or job, whether it’s paid or unpaid.
6. Apply to ALL the internships
Go on Handshake and find an opportunity that excites you. Heck, find 10 opportunities that excite you. You have nothing to lose by applying. Chances are with Cal on your resume, someone is going to give you an initial interview. That’s your step in, they already know you are smart, they want to see if you are right for the role. Here, we come to a crossroad. You either convince them that you are the best person for the job and they eventually hire you or you spend an hour of your time getting valuable interview practice that you can then learn from to kill it at your next interview. You never know what doors may open for you by putting yourself out there.
All of these things have made a pivotal impact on my Cal experience in the most positive of ways. I hope it helps you too!
