Making The Most Of Your First Year In College
There’s an abundance of articles out there on how to handle your first year in college, covering such things as money management, romance, preparation and that precarious work/play balance many including myself have fallen to the wrong side of. This piece briefly touches on those matters, though with the scauldy touch that is somehow part of my brand. The first year of college is often a scary one, involving a lot of change and upheaval, but it’s also an exciting time too.
Embrace The Mistakes: A major part of life is making mistakes, being able to own up to them and learning from them as a result, so you grow as a person. A lot of times you’ll end up having to make your own mistakes despite warnings from your parents, older siblings, whoever in your life seems to have it all sussed out though in actuality nobody ever does. Even things written by people on the internet can be useful, believe it or not. Some mistakes yours truly has made include losing numerous hats throughout the year, failing to read assignment questions accurately, pulling all-nighters to do assignments I should have done ages ago, mixing banana milk and Tesco vodka, doing a debate while undergoing a vicious hangover, ending up in a committee position after volunteering while drunk and most regrettably passing out on the street drunk during Fresher’s Week. Some of these things made for good stories. All were things that looking back I’d rather not have experienced. A big part of growing up is doing a lot of really stupid shit and looking back knowing you won’t be doing that again, so embrace them but be sure to learn from them.
Embrace The Scauld: The vast majority of college students will be strapped for cash in some sense during college, whether their weekend job is being poured into paying off fees or you’re counting on the grant to help out with rent. You may have been drinking somewhat pleasant alcohol during your secondary school days, Smirnoff or Huzzar rather than Tamova or Tesco vodka. A lack of funds will drive you to those cheaper alternatives, may as well gain an appreciation for them. A key part of the college experience in my opinion is exploiting the minimum of resources for the maximum of craic, and that may require a trip down scauldy lane. If you’re not a drinker this also applies to you, while some of the grimmer aspects of scauldiness won’t be relevant, there’s always ways of getting by on the bare minimum.
Embrace The Opportunities: One of the best parts of the college experience is the chance to get involved in things you might not have before, either through lack of opportunity in your locality or simply not considering the possibilities. This could be anything from taking up yoga or blogging, to getting more involved in political activism. Maintaining the work/extra-curricular/social balance can be tough, and there probably will be times you slip up. However if there’s something you’ve always wanted to do, whether it’s volunteering abroad or simply reading your poetry in front of other people, now’s a good time to give it a shot, before you’re old and living out the opening monologue to Trainspotting.
Embrace The Connections: You’re gonna meet a lot of people from different backgrounds with different perspectives in college. This could be anywhere from your course to people you live with to even just scabbing a lighter off them by the library. Friends can come in the most unexpected of places, though meeting new people can be a daunting and scary thing for a lot of folk, it is definitely worth embracing those new connections. You’ll find people to drink with, people to chat shit with, people to cry over exams with, people to work on projects with, people to get breakfast with, people to fight over the electricity bill with.
Embrace The Supports: This is the most important part of the article. The first year of college can be a great time, but it can also be incredibly rough. There are a lot of adjustments to be made, from living away from home in many cases, to managing your money to a greater extent than before, to simply being able to balance all your obligations without people breathing down your neck like before. While sometimes you will end up in college with friends, more often than not you’ll be cut off from old support networks, having to make your own friends which can be hard. Switching over to a different style of learning is also a source of stress, especially if you feel you’re in the wrong course, as many do. The stress of all this upheaval can exacerbate pre-existing mental illnesses, which can lead to very ugly consequences. Know what the supports are on campus, don’t be afraid to use them if you feel like you need them, and please look after yourselves folks.
Embrace Your Identity: It’s a massive cliché to say college is about “finding yourself” and an even bigger one to have a “be yourself” message. Saying that though, college does give you a chance to explore and express your identity in a way you might not have been able to before. Clubs and societies give you a chance to develop your interests and meet people who share those interests. It’s a less judgemental environment, while people who think starting on others for arbitrary reasons do exist, in college it’s easier to avoid them. You can get a man bun, start a noise band, listen to Animal Collective, you’re freed from the constraints of provincial town bullshit. Grow from the awkward weed of secondary school into a mildly more dignified if somewhat more stressed out shrub.
Embrace The Chaos: While a bit of planning never did anyone any harm, it is impossible to
plan for every eventuality. Not to stray into Dead Poet’s Society territory but spontaneity is the source of many great moments in life, from randomly ending up at jazz and blues nights in a local pub, to writing poems in the middle of a rather dull meeting, to auditioning for a play drunk and somehow getting a part. Opportunities can come from the most surprising of places, good stories can arise from the most unexpected of situations, embrace that element of chaos that comes with college, and indeed life itself.
So yeah, there you go, a few things to keep in mind for your first year in college, go forth and make the most of this point in time.
Embrace The Mistakes: A major part of life is making mistakes, being able to own up to them and learning from them as a result, so you grow as a person. A lot of times you’ll end up having to make your own mistakes despite warnings from your parents, older siblings, whoever in your life seems to have it all sussed out though in actuality nobody ever does. Even things written by people on the internet can be useful, believe it or not. Some mistakes yours truly has made include losing numerous hats throughout the year, failing to read assignment questions accurately, pulling all-nighters to do assignments I should have done ages ago, mixing banana milk and Tesco vodka, doing a debate while undergoing a vicious hangover, ending up in a committee position after volunteering while drunk and most regrettably passing out on the street drunk during Fresher’s Week. Some of these things made for good stories. All were things that looking back I’d rather not have experienced. A big part of growing up is doing a lot of really stupid shit and looking back knowing you won’t be doing that again, so embrace them but be sure to learn from them.
Embrace The Scauld: The vast majority of college students will be strapped for cash in some sense during college, whether their weekend job is being poured into paying off fees or you’re counting on the grant to help out with rent. You may have been drinking somewhat pleasant alcohol during your secondary school days, Smirnoff or Huzzar rather than Tamova or Tesco vodka. A lack of funds will drive you to those cheaper alternatives, may as well gain an appreciation for them. A key part of the college experience in my opinion is exploiting the minimum of resources for the maximum of craic, and that may require a trip down scauldy lane. If you’re not a drinker this also applies to you, while some of the grimmer aspects of scauldiness won’t be relevant, there’s always ways of getting by on the bare minimum.
Embrace The Opportunities: One of the best parts of the college experience is the chance to get involved in things you might not have before, either through lack of opportunity in your locality or simply not considering the possibilities. This could be anything from taking up yoga or blogging, to getting more involved in political activism. Maintaining the work/extra-curricular/social balance can be tough, and there probably will be times you slip up. However if there’s something you’ve always wanted to do, whether it’s volunteering abroad or simply reading your poetry in front of other people, now’s a good time to give it a shot, before you’re old and living out the opening monologue to Trainspotting.
Embrace The Connections: You’re gonna meet a lot of people from different backgrounds with different perspectives in college. This could be anywhere from your course to people you live with to even just scabbing a lighter off them by the library. Friends can come in the most unexpected of places, though meeting new people can be a daunting and scary thing for a lot of folk, it is definitely worth embracing those new connections. You’ll find people to drink with, people to chat shit with, people to cry over exams with, people to work on projects with, people to get breakfast with, people to fight over the electricity bill with.
Embrace The Supports: This is the most important part of the article. The first year of college can be a great time, but it can also be incredibly rough. There are a lot of adjustments to be made, from living away from home in many cases, to managing your money to a greater extent than before, to simply being able to balance all your obligations without people breathing down your neck like before. While sometimes you will end up in college with friends, more often than not you’ll be cut off from old support networks, having to make your own friends which can be hard. Switching over to a different style of learning is also a source of stress, especially if you feel you’re in the wrong course, as many do. The stress of all this upheaval can exacerbate pre-existing mental illnesses, which can lead to very ugly consequences. Know what the supports are on campus, don’t be afraid to use them if you feel like you need them, and please look after yourselves folks.
Embrace Your Identity: It’s a massive cliché to say college is about “finding yourself” and an even bigger one to have a “be yourself” message. Saying that though, college does give you a chance to explore and express your identity in a way you might not have been able to before. Clubs and societies give you a chance to develop your interests and meet people who share those interests. It’s a less judgemental environment, while people who think starting on others for arbitrary reasons do exist, in college it’s easier to avoid them. You can get a man bun, start a noise band, listen to Animal Collective, you’re freed from the constraints of provincial town bullshit. Grow from the awkward weed of secondary school into a mildly more dignified if somewhat more stressed out shrub.
Embrace The Chaos: While a bit of planning never did anyone any harm, it is impossible to
plan for every eventuality. Not to stray into Dead Poet’s Society territory but spontaneity is the source of many great moments in life, from randomly ending up at jazz and blues nights in a local pub, to writing poems in the middle of a rather dull meeting, to auditioning for a play drunk and somehow getting a part. Opportunities can come from the most surprising of places, good stories can arise from the most unexpected of situations, embrace that element of chaos that comes with college, and indeed life itself.
So yeah, there you go, a few things to keep in mind for your first year in college, go forth and make the most of this point in time.
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