Transitioning from living at home to living in a college like environment:
Moving into your college dorms and meeting all new faces can be a very daunting task, seeing where you will be living for the next few years and realizing it is nothing like how you used to live can be very scary, it was definitely scary for me when I was a freshman. There are plenty of things that are needed to survive on your own, but focusing on the main points will greatly help you when making your transition. Learning how to create and maintain a budget for expenses, planning meals and other food sources, finding a form of transportation around campus and town, and being able to manage your time to efficiently balance all aspects of your life are major things to focus on.
As well as focusing on these parts, it is just as important to learn how to manage your academics properly, a college workload is very different from highschool or lesser schooling. You’re going to want to develop a type of routine to keep your work under control, managing your time and understanding what is required of you will benefit you greatly when making the transition. Understanding the importance of this will improve your chances of success greatly.
Just as important as academics, it is the social aspects of college living. You’re going to be living around many other people for the next few years, so going around and interacting with these people will be beneficial. If you are able to find and hold a strong friend group, this will benefit you when learning the ropes at college, they will be there to help you or pick you back up when it’s needed. Having a group of friends that will be there for you in times of need will help you when it comes to both the social and academic parts of college. When you are wanting to go out and do something, they are able to tag along and make it enjoyable. Say you don’t do the best in a class or are struggling to keep up with the workload, your friends will be here to provide assistance or support both physically and mentally. This can remove any sense of homesickness or uncertainty about college life.
If you are able to figure out these major aspects of the transition, your college experience will be smooth and memorable in many ways.
Being exposed to all types of cultures and new people in college:
One lesson that I learned that I think would influence incoming Freshman would be how when coming to college, you are immediately exposed to different kinds of people from all over. Different backgrounds, different privileges, different mindsets- the world is very big and becoming exposed to different people is fundamental in growth. If an individual has only ever been exposed to one culture, lifestyle, or viewpoint, their way of thinking can become narrow and restricted. They become very self-centered and closed minded, expecting everyone around them to cater to their needs without catering to others. However, when they meet people from different backgrounds, they can not only gain new insights and understandings of the world around them, but utilize these teachings in the future. Understanding and being understood go hand in hand with meeting people, and through having an open mind you make more connections and lessons that you can not only teach to others but be taught yourself if you have the ears to listen.
The world is very big, and being exposed to different mindsets can help you grow. In addition, exposure to different cultures can promote curiosity in an individual. Curiosity could lead to an increased appreciation of art, language, music, and customs as well as encourage an individual to pursue opportunities to learn and grow. This curiosity can further prompt individuals to ask more questions, learn new things, and explore unfamiliar places to truly broaden experiences.
Failure is bound to happen, don’t be afraid of it:
Another lesson that no matter who you are and what background you’ve come from that I think incoming Freshman should not only learn but utilize, is that failure won’t just happen to you throughout college and life, but that it is necessary for growth. Failure is not romanticized enough; it pushes through writer’s block and demotivation via creative outlets. It’s been the backbone of every bird and every child as they learn to fly and walk. Many successful breakthroughs have resulted from learning from past failures. Innovators and entrepreneurs who have failed multiple times are better prepared for success than those who have not experienced failure at all. When you fail, a certain sense of resilience and lack of embarrassment is crafted into grit and determination to succeed. Failure may pull you down, but once you do fail, you can only be pushed forwards with perseverance.
Romanticizing failure can also change the negative connotation that surrounds it by acknowledging how you failed, understanding its inevitability, and embracing it as part of the learning process. The negative connotations that come along with failure can be transformed into learning lessons that improve a growth mindset that college provides.
I’ve failed tons of times, we all have and will, but knowing that and learning to embrace it is what matters. To channel that embarrassment and self doubt into an experience that will push you forwards means much more than never trying again to begin with.
