Growing up watching so many young adult TV shows, I thought I had an idea of what college would potentially look like. But in reality, no matter how much you think you know, there’s always so much to discover.
My college journey started on a rainy day, August 2022, moving into Tiernan had set me up for the most unpredictable four years of my life. For the first time, I was responsible for myself and could make my own decisions. This was such a dream, but at that moment felt so scary. I had to remind myself that everyone in my class year was also feeling this, so I was not alone. I think this helped me not get overly stressed about leaving home and try my best to build a community on campus.
I remember my goal was to find a home away from home as soon as possible. This led me to join cultural organizations to find people who looked like me and had similar values. I got really lucky and met some of my best friends in those settings. I think once I had a solid friend group, navigating college became so much more doable. Because I was no longer alone, I always had someone to eat lunch with, study with.
So I highly recommend trying to find a group of people whom you can navigate college because it makes all the difference in the world. But also make sure to not lower your standards when it comes to friends, your friends will determine how most of your social life looks like, make sure to surround yourself with people you actually like.
Another aspect of college that is essential to your growth is health and nutrition! I think the late-night ramen culture is so glamorized when talking about college, but I really don’t recommend it at all. Now that you are in college, you are in charge of taking care of yourself. Be responsible and smart about it. Try your best to eat three meals a day at a reasonable time so that your body gets the fuel it needs. Try to make time to go to the gym or do some sort of exercise to move your body. It does not have to be anything intense, but make sure you are taking care of your health so that you don’t get sick in the middle of the semester.
This brings me to my next topic of studying! Everyone at Rochester comes from being top of their class and doing extremely well in high school. However, it’s really difficult to keep up that stamina in college. Classes are larger, no one is telling you to study. It’s very difficult to have the motivation to do so. This is why I recommend finding a good spot where you feel productive and locking in every time you go there. And feel free to change it up, sometimes libraries are not the most productive places. Every time I am in iZone or Gleason, I get way more socializing done than actual work. I recommend finding random spots on campus where not a lot of people go to study. This just works best for me because there’s less distraction!
I hope these insights helped you visualize college a little more. If you are starting college soon, good luck, you got this!