So I Finished My First Year Of College Last Month And Thought I’d Share Things I Learned And Advice

so i finished my first year of college last month and thought i’d share things i learned and advice on entering and starting your first year

keep a planner

take advantage of student id discounts

try to go to class as much as possible

in cases that you don’t go, make sure you have a friend, or at least someone who will fill you in and give you notes, in each class

network as soon as you can and as often as you can

wait a week or two until you purchase your textbooks, people aren’t lying to you, they’re expensive as fuuuccckkk, you’ll want to wait for multiple reasons because in some cases you never even end up using the book, or your library has it and you can just borrow it for free

wear flip flops in the shower if you don’t have your own bathroom

speaking of, go to the bathroom before class

set multiple alarms

take advantage of as many opportunities that come your way as possible

MAKE CONNECTIONS

have a very, very open mind

watch your drink

watch your friend’s drinks too

never, ever, ever, ever, ever, under ANY circumstances, drive while intoxicated or get into a car with a driver who is

get to know your professors

do the extra credit, it’s rare

back up your files

if you take your laptop with you somewhere bring your charger as well

take the stairs, seriously, a little goes a long way

99.9999% of people don’t give a shit about what you were in high school

try to plan and work ahead

never travel alone late at night

don’t hesitate to ask for help—material that took a week to learn in high school can be taught in one lecture in a college class, no one will slow down for you or help you unless you speak up

participate in class

again, talk to your professors, it’s good to in general, and you never know how they can help you outside of class

if you have a problem with your roommate, if you’re not getting along with them, or it’s not working, do something about it ASAP

keep in touch with those you care about, don’t burn bridges

it’s ok if you don’t make friends immediately, it took me awhile to find people i could truly be satisfied with, sometimes it happens when you’re not looking

take this to heart: do things you wouldn’t ordinarily do before. the best things i did this past school year were things i never tried in high school, going on trips with people i didn’t know, who i now call some of the closest friends i have, and going on service work trips out of state

build up your gpa in the beginning by taking classes that are not as tough in your first semester, a gpa is harder to bring up than to knock down, tldr; start strong, start easy

grades matter, BUT, don’t sacrifice your health and well being for them

get enough sleep, you can, i did

don’t base your decisions off what other people would think but if something goes against your morals, stick with your morals

take care of yourself and your body, just because it’s free does not mean you have to eat it, college is the perfect time to make your physical health crash and burn but it is also the perfect time to start having a healthier one

take the time to check over assignments you’re submitting

ratemyprofessor.com is your bff, use it and reference it

early classes are not that bad

attend campus events

know what’s going on on campus, don’t be clueless in your own environment

get involved in clubs and groups that are associated with your major…but also stuff that isn’t

and if a group/organization that’s associated with your major, like for me PRSSA, has a membership fee, it’s probably worth it

explore your city, campus, downtown….

try to get an internship before it’s required

get a LinkedIn account

always keep an umbrella and a phone charger on hand

make friends with as many people as you can, but don’t “collect” friends, ya know?

go to job fairs/career fairs

it’s ok to stay in sometimes and just j chill

decorate and personalize your room

when preparing to register for classes, make a mock schedule first

find a mentor(s)

first impressions are a big fucking deal

you don’t have to put on a ball gown, but put an effort into the way you represent yourself

make a budget

More Posts from Decadentheartflower and Others

decadentheartflower

7 years ago

I wasn’t asked to a single dance in high school and didn’t have a serious romantic relationship until I was 22. And like, yeah that shit hurt when I was younger. I had a lot of fears that I was unlovable and that I didn’t deserve to be happy. And every time I would try to talk to anyone about it, the conversation became, “you’ll find someone”, when it should have been, “you don’t need a relationship or a date, you’re lovable & complete & beautiful on your own”.

So yeah, please normalize young people not dating, and please stop shaming them for it. There’s more to life than romance, despite what the media wants us to think.

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decadentheartflower

8 years ago

Do you know some good movies that give you that cosy feeling and make you want to go study? Like Harry Potter for example

Firstly, I am so sorry for the lateness of this post. I really had to do some thinking when considering which movies are my “study inspiration.” So here are a few:

“Dear White People” dir. Justin Simien. (I like this one because as a person of colour, I identify with most of the character. This movie has a great message and is also set at a fictitious Ivy league school. It is one of those movies set in university that actually show people doing university things, like going to class and studying).

“Gilmore Girls” Season 4. (I am a big fan of Gilmore Girls especially this season because this is when Rory sets off to Yale. It is nice seeing that there is a a plit as well as a well read, motivated protagonist who is attending Yale. After waiting Rory do her thing, it always gets me ready to start my work).

“The Dead Poet’s Society” dir. Peter Wier (This one is a classic and set at a prestigious boarding school. Need I say more?)

“Goats” dir. Christopher Neil (This movie follows Ellis, a super smart 14-15 year old who moves away from home to go to boarding school. There is also some family drama that keeps things interesting).

“How to Get Away with Murder” (I am a big fan of law television shows, and watching law students do there thing really inspire me to get on my studying in hopes that I may end up going to law school some day).

“The Newsroom” (This is one of my favourite shows. It is set in a newsroom where everybody is bustling around working non-stop to get the news out there. I also really like how it uses real current events as the news that they are broadcasting).

“Liberal Arts” dir. Josh Radnor ( Although this movie does feature a “manic pixie dream girl type” (some may argue) it is great. It is about a man who goes back to his university and kinda re-lives his glory days in a sense. Just watch it, it is great and gets me think about how lucky I am to be learning so much. This almost always gets me studying).

“House of Cards” (I love this show because of the excellent writing and political badassary).

“The Re-Write” (This movies is exclusively focused on writing fiction. It always helps when I have to get my Lit homework done).

“Miss Representation” dir. Jennifer Siebel Newsom (I fabulous documentary about how women are treated in out media and in society at large. Seeing this always makes me want to work even harder to defy these stereotypes. Even if you don’t need to study, this is a great watch).

So, these are all I could think of a the moment. But if I think of more I will add some. And everybody, feel free to add your favourite movie/tv show study motivators too!

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decadentheartflower

8 years ago

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decadentheartflower

6 years ago

me to other people: ur self-worth should not be defined by ur grades!

me to myself: if u don’t get a 107 on this assignment ur dead to me

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decadentheartflower

8 years ago

Getting back up

After having a really horrible semester last year, I wanted to write a post on dealing with bad days/weeks/months or even years.

If you are feeling like you are in a really bad phase, just take a deep breath and DONT pity yourself. Self pity kills. Instead think that this is just a bad phase and like all phases, this one will end and a new better one will begin.

1.Talk to your friends, or your parents or someone who understands and knows you.

2.Watch romcoms or comedy movies that will lift up your spirits.(One of my favourites is Begin Again).

3.Write posts about how you are feeling and what difficulties you are facing so that people who have gone through similar things can help you and give you advice.

4.Most importantly, dont give up on your studies and your goals. Go back to your teacher and ask for help. Ask friends. Watch videos. Look at previous question papers. Anything to help you get through that rough patch in a subject.

5.If you have a lot of backlog and lagging work, just drink a cup of coffee and get to work. Complete a major chunk of your backlog so that you feel good about yourself and get your spirits up.

6.I have realised that once I start disliking a subject, I procrastinate. I leave the work to the last possible moment and then (obviously) its not upto its mark. A vicious cycle.

7.Remember that stressing yourself about anything will not help. Neither will worry. Instead put that emotion in doing something productive. If there is nothing more that you can do about it then only rest easy.

After all, its a bad day, not a bad life. :)