5 Things I Wish I Had Known Before I Went To College.
The Small University Guide For People Who Have No Idea What To Expect In College
As the next school year is just 2 months away, one of my friends, who is a year younger than me, recently approached me with a question. He was curious to know what are some things I should be aware of before starting university.
I remember almost a year ago posing the same question to myself.
How will everyone perceive me, and how will it go?
Adding to the strength of the situation, studying in an international circle has caused me to be isolated from my native people. In that situation a year ago, all I could do was keep going and make a BUNCH OF mistakes.
So now, with a year of experience behind my back, I would love to share advice with some people who are just coming to college, or already studying there but still struggling to know what they should be doing.
Let’s get into it with those five pieces of advice that my younger self would treasure to hear.
1. No one cares about you, your opinion, or what you bring in.
Sounds harsh, I know, but it is even worse when you realize it yourself.
At school, it was different. You are all put into the same environment for a long time (if you did not switch between schools); you become used to it, and naturally, through this a long time you get adapted.
It comes to caring about people or things that were not important. Even with the tutors, they might see some potential students and care about them a bit more, or they see some people that they just hate, and make everything biased towards them.
Still, people were experiencing highlighted emotions towards each other, but fortunately or unfortunately for you, this is all gone in uni.
Students care about their survival, rather than a new rumor, and teachers? Well, they are getting paid better in college, so they have some stuff to do on their own.
At first, it was dramatic for me, and I really felt in how I was depressed from all of that. In my school time, I was a kid who was constantly under the but when it just abruptly switched; it hit me harder than the truck.
Be ready for that. Don’t overthink and make matters extremely hard for you.
2. Whether you hate someone or love them, you must find a way to cooperate.
Maybe with some majors, it is much easier, however with mine it was inevitable. Of course, like every person in this world, I hold a specific prejudice against some people, and it happened naturally, but who knew I would have to work with them?
With this aspect, it is much harder but look at it as the overcoming of the problem.
You are the educated person who has to seek the solution and come up with it. In this way, the university prepares you for future life and gives you a slight preview of the next 5 years.
For example, you work in your job, and you love it. Salary is good, the community is amazing, and you have to get the promotion, but there is one dude who is a jackass. You hate that person, and despise him, but are you going to quit your job or work that out?
The second option seems and feels more reasonable, right? Because it is.
You would not just quit the job because of one dude. Always put that in a bigger perspective when you try to make some big decisions.
3. Life is hectic. So form a schedule for yourself.
I had a really serious struggle to manage my study time, and my social time, as both were crucial parts of my life. The word “postpone” became one of my most used just because of my disability to organize myself.
I felt like I could and should combine plenty of meetings, events, and activities in one day.
But I could not.
There comes a time when you must make sacrifices for something, and there’s no way around it. Don’t stress, it all comes down to what you prioritize. Eventually, you will find a way to organize yourself with a real schedule.
As a person who loved to be pretty spontaneous, I had to make a drastic change. To-Do-Lists and Weekly Schedule, both helped me:
* Organize Myself
* Learn such skills as time management
* Decrease the people-pleasing aspect of me
4. You have to socialize and spend high-quality time with people.
Remember how I said that no one cares about you? Yes, this still applies, but when you socialize, do it for yourself, not them.
In the 1st semester of my studies, I was alone, and I thought it was fine. In my head, I would just go to uni to study, get my knowledge, get my diploma, and go home, but it doesn’t work this way.
I am no robot. The reason I felt that intense loneliness was because I didn’t have meaningful interactions with others. I distinctly recall the time when I purposely distanced myself from any form of social interaction, despite being naturally talkative and sociable. It simply wasn’t working out for me.
How did I fix that?
I found something in common with other people.
In my case, this was table tennis or ping-pong. Initially, I just started going there after classes with my friend, but then it grew to an entire club of amateur tennis players, and in that way, we all helped each other to socialize. The game of ping-pong was not just a game, it was a necessary ritual for all of us because we were taking a break and spending high-quality time with each other.
5. Don’t study to pass, study to use.
Btw, this is by far the most important advice.
What I noticed with plenty of people is that they pay a high tuition fee, and they just learn stuff to pass it. Why?
To make the most of your learning, it’s essential to grasp the concepts and explore their real-world applications. Sometimes there is not much stuff you can connect to the world, but most of it is made for this exact purpose.
For example, you just discovered the biggest trick in marketing, and who is the most targeted audience of marketing.
Remember that and use it to your advantage.
Those were 5 by far the most important pieces of advice that I learned, but I feel like there are still some more ideas that I can share.
If you found this useful, entertaining, or relatable, let me know, and maybe I will get you 5 more solid pieces of advice :)
