Biggest Lessons College Has Taught Me
Coming in to college, I would say I had a pretty firm grip on who I am as a individual and the things that I want out of life. I have found that as I become older, I become more mature as well. I do not believe that age defines maturity, but I have found that as I became older, I began to experience various situations as an adult and that I became more mature as I came along. I would say that college forces you to become more mature, because parents are no longer available to walk you through life. Now you’re in college, you/re on your own, no curfew, and the world presented before you….
What are you going to do?
I have learned some tips over time, and I want to share them and you may find use of my tips too!
1. Stay true to yourself! Don’t let anyone or anything change you, your values, ideologies, or perceptions.
2. Stay focused! You’re in college for a reason-Don’t lose sight of that.
3. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals! Keep people around you that are goal and career oriented, and positive people. Remember- you are who you hang around.
4. Don’t be scared to make mistakes! You’re not perfect and that’s okay, consider every situation a learning experience, and value the growth that comes from these experiences!
5. Find a balance! Ever hear too much of a good thing can actually turn out to be a bad thing? Well, you want to spread your time evenly across all the things that engulf your time in order to manage it effectively.
I hope these tips help you in some form or fashion! (:
-Tediah Grant
April 10th, 2013 at 1:52 am
These are really great tips, especially when applied to leadership roles! I especially like the fourth tip because a lot of times leadership and perfection are thought to be the same thing. Leaders can make sub-par decisions sometimes, but what makes a true leader is what they do with those decisions and how they turn them around.
April 10th, 2013 at 2:51 pm
Great blog post, Tediah! I definitely agree. Coming to college, I have learned things about myself that I never knew prior to this experience. I have seen first hand how you have to step into adulthood at a rapid pace and handle things in a adult-like manner. I find those tips to be very true in regards to not just any college student, but also to kids, teens, preteens, and adults as well. Good job!
April 10th, 2013 at 7:00 pm
Great tips, Tediah! The last few caught my eye:
#3 (surround yourself with like-minded individuals): I must agree that “you become the people you hang out with”. At one time, I used to hang out with some kids who -for various reasons- really were not going anywhere in life. My life has significantly improved since leaving these people behind. Sometimes as hard as it may be to see them less at the time, it is best for your own personal interest. I also learned that some people are friends in more academic situations whereas some people are better social friends, and that it’s okay to have that divide.
#4 (don’t be scared to make mistakes): I LOVE making mistakes. Royally screwing things up. On some occasions, past the point of repair. While that seems counterintuitive, mistakes lead to experiential learning, and that is priceless. Plus, I’m one of those people who has to mess up before I truly appreciate how bad my previous (faulty) methods were before.
#5 (find a balance): the first semester I wasn’t balancing friendships and schoolwork equally and that hurt my GPA, but this semester I’ve taken a step back and made sure I am as involved as I want to be in my studies, in extracurricular groups, and with people. Doing this has allowed me to enjoy this semester a lot more!
April 11th, 2013 at 12:44 pm
I still struggle with a lot of these, even though I’ve been here for 2 years!
However, I’d disagree a little with these. While it’s important to stay true to one’s self, I think it’s also important to be open-minded to change! I know I definitely held some values earlier in my life that were problematic, and being in college has changed a lot of those. Along the same lines, I’m not sure if it’s best to surround yourself with like-minded people. I think it can also be really valuable and challenging to be around people who are NOT like one’s self. You can learn a lot, and do some of that changing I mentioned earlier! I think college is definitely a place to learn and grow and test those morals and values that we might have earlier found just self-evident. Change can be good!
April 15th, 2013 at 11:22 am
Margot,
I absolutely loved reading your post, because I could just hear your energetic voice providing these essential tips to any prospective Mason student while leading a tour group, Miss Mason Ambassador! I have to agree; college is a critical time when every boundary from academics to social situations is being pushed, and it is important to find comfort in being pushed out of the safe boat.