Incoming Freshman; We Got You Covered

There will come moments in life when you will have to make decisions without your parents, friends, or teachers to guide your path. Many of these moments will turn out to define you in some way down the road, which could be in your maturity or an illustration of responsibility.

Whether the decisions are placed upon you to make on your own or not, it is the start of you paving your own path in life. It can be nerve-wracking to make the transition from having someone make decisions for you to becoming your own decision maker.

Standing on your own during your years at college will help the transition towards accomplishing your goals and success after graduation.

Conflicting decisions that may arise during your years of college include the rivalry between reading a book assigned for a class or watching a late night movie with friends. A significant difference between high school and college reading assignments is the professors do not keep you accountable and there will be more content expected of you to read in a short amount of time.

A key lesson to learn is priority of your classes throughout a given semester. You will be attempting to balance anywhere between four to six different courses and subject matters and pass all of those classes. My advice is to know your limits.

Additionally you will feel like there is not enough time to accomplish all you want to take on but with a planner in hand and your time management skills constantly evolving, you will realize that it is possible to get everything accomplished.

Priorities will be tested and those you surround yourself with may have different values when it comes to academics and social expectations.

I would advise for you to consider what it takes for you to excel in the classroom as an individual and note that everyone’s study habits are unique. Doing what is best for you to excel in school despite the pressures from peers and social activities will radiate on your transcripts in the future.

The first two months of college will be full of invitations to join parties, clubs, and intramural sports teams, which is positive way to get involved in your school.

What you choose to dedicate time to should extend towards your passions as well as help you to step out of your comfort zone and meet new people. There will come a time throughout your college career when you feel like there won’t be enough time to get everything done.

Being apart of the technology age we are constantly using our phone as our calendar, however my suggestion is- get a daily planner and write things down. This will help you in keeping track of your crazy schedule and staying on top of things.

It may sound like a hectic time and also scary knowing that you will be challenged by so many new expectations and commitments but that is the point of college. You will look back once you hit the finish line and realized how much you have matured. Your worldview and expectations of yourself will have grown and changed.

You must have confidence to do what you have passion for, not for the glory from others but for your future self, success will follow.