Advice for Freshmen from a Senior
By: Hollie Kepley
As you begin college, you may be worried about fitting in, making friends, or deciding what to do with your future. No matter the obstacles you face or what others may say, you can do this. Answering and addressing these unknowns may seem like an unmanageable task, but from personal experience, tackling college is possible if you take a few words of advice.
Be proactive. Picture it. It’s ten o’clock at night, and you’re hanging out with friends. Suddenly, a sinking feeling hits you. The English paper that you had “plenty of time” to do is due at midnight. From the enrollment process to your graduation date, responsibilities and obligations will be placed on you, stretching your to-do list longer and longer. However, getting these requirements done ahead of time can take away some of the unnecessary stress from day to day. If you refrain from procrastinating and instead plan for what you know the future will hold, you can decrease your worries and better focus on your end goals.
Be personable. If you want to get the most out of the “college experience,” sitting in your dorm room or driving home immediately after class is not the way to do it. Study with friends. Use your resources. Take advantage of this time in your life. Building relationships with others, attending organizational and sporting events, and simply spending time on campus can help you become a sociable, well-rounded student who is better prepared to approach the diverse and ever changing world after college.
Finally, even though sometimes it seems impossible, be positive. There will be weeks when making it to Thursday will seem like a marathon. I have found that though you’ll want to vent, protest, and sometimes even shed a tear, finding a glint of hope in those tough times will change them from downfalls to lessons. Let those tough times when you didn’t make the score you wanted or when you feel alone in the commotion be moments of growth, strengthening your outlook and building your character.
When all is said and done, students successfully make it from their first day of college to walking across the stage at graduation every year, so who is to say that student can’t be you?
PA Talk is a blog created by Cumberland University’s Presidential Ambassadors covering topics and giving advice that is relevant to the CU student experience. For topic suggestions, email Mattie Jennings at mjennings@cumberland.edu.