Here’s What I Learnt as a College Freshman

I was always told that college teaches you to be self-sufficient before I went off to college. Obviously I knew it was true to some extent but I didn’t take it very seriously. All this time I was thinking I’m self-sufficient enough; there’s not much that college can teach me in that department anyway. Other than that, I also believed that the fact that college makes you self-sufficient was a little exaggerated.

College exactly took 3 weeks to prove me wrong in every way possible.

Turns out there’s more to being self-sufficient than doing laundry and waking up on time before class (who would’ve known?).

Now full disclosure, I only spent 6 out of 8 months in college (because of the Corona Virus Outbreak) but I learnt way more about the real world than High School could ever teach me in these last 4 years. So I decided to share what I’ve learnt in these last 6 months with people who are going to college soon or people who already got done with college but they want to live the good ol’ days again (do let me know if you agree with the list) or people in college who want to know if they can relate or not. So in the last 6 months, I learnt that-

Moving Out Of The House Was Necessary

The first few days when I first moved to College were tough. I missed home and I was too embarrassed to admit it. Mornings were worse if I’m being honest. Every morning I’d feel weak and upset which I later learnt was a defence mechanism of the mind so that the pain doesn’t catch us by surprise. Moving out was necessary because just like many others, my house was my comfort zone and I felt vulnerable because I was in a new environment and I didn’t have my support system-my family. It also took me days to adjust to the new people around. I used to call my friends from hometown almost everyday because interacting with people in college felt alien. However, with time I started to get involved in the academics and I started to miss home a little less as the days passed on. It was good that I chose a school halfway across the country because if I went to school that was nearby or maybe in the same town then I wouldn’t be comfortable with staying far away from home and it could potentially harm my career in the future.

I’m proud of myself for learning that there’s nothing wrong or embarrassing about missing home (even though it took me months to come to terms with that).

Time Management Is Your Best Friend

Learning Time Management is one of the best outcomes of going to college. Before properly learning how to manage my time, I was still submitting my assignments on time but for that, I had to give up on sleep, be worried about not submitting my assignment on time and do things in a hurry which minimised the things I learnt. Time Management didn’t just make me productive but it also made me energetic. Before I started managing my time properly, I’d wake up late and somehow make it to class on time, come back to my room and sleep for an indefinite amount of time or procrastinate by watching TV Shows and study very little. Whereas, other people were going to class, going to the gym, studying and having fun with friends in the same 24 hours. I knew I had to change my routine.

I made a schedule and followed it as much as I can. obviously, doing everything at the time mentioned, or even doing everything mentioned in the schedule wasn’t possible everyday but I tried my level best to follow my schedule. I had assigned minimum 3 hours to study everyday, assigned a specific amount of time after class to sleep or watch TV shows and assigned a slot to workout. There’s no one in college to tell you what to do, so procrastinating is easier. It takes discipline and motivation to study and keep fit when you’re in college. The first few days were tough as hell when I started but it kept getting easier. And every once in a while when I was ahead of my assignments, I’d give myself more time to sleep or watch more tv shows or not study at all to give myself a break from my schedule like a cheat day.

It Is Important To Enjoy Your Own Company

As I said earlier, I used to call my hometown friends almost everyday because talking to people in college felt alien…well if you haven’t figured already, I have social anxiety (It’s not the same as being an introvert). I was too shy to make friends and the fact that I didn’t make friends frustrated me. I needed someone to talk so I used to be on call with my family way too much. I didn’t know what to do. Not being able to make friends and being away from home made me want to go back home almost immediately. I started counting up the months trying to figure out how many months I had to stay there (which was a lot by the way-48 months). I felt bad and ashamed that I didn’t have friends to go out with or have fun with. I spent almost all my time in my room all by myself. After watching a lot of videos online about not having friends in college and making friends in college, I realised, I just had to enjoy my own company. If I wasn’t enjoying my own company, how would others? I accepted the fact that there was no shame in being on your own (while still being open to making friends) and I started reading a lot as it made me forget about what’s happening around. I started doing things I enjoyed whether or not I had friends around. I started going to restaurants and cafes; beaches and movies all on my own. Even when in my dorm room, I watched TV shows, played games and did everything I liked without even thinking that I had no friends (earlier my mind used to be consumed with ideas about how to make friends, which wasn’t that useful). As soon as I stopped stressing about not having friends and started to enjoy my own company, I noticed I started talking to people easily without having second thoughts and started approaching random people. Total life changer.

You Can’t Always Be On Your Own- Make Friends

Contrary to what I said above, you can’t always be on your own. No matter how socially awkward you are, you need friends. Obviously I did everything I liked on my own, but let’s be honest here, these things would’ve been exponentially fun if I had friends around. Other than having friends to have fun, you need someone to talk to when you’re feeling low, you need someone to take care of you especially when you’re living so far away from home. You need a home away from home. Interact as much as you can especially in the beginning of your college life as everyone will be new and as awkward as you and they’d be looking to make friends. Don’t make the mistakes I made.

Hobbies Make Your Life So Much Easier

Another addition to not having friends, hobbies make it extremely easy to meet new people and make new friends. Not that I don’t have any hobbies….they’re not that social or even physical. My hobbies are mostly reading and writing and calligraphy (what can I say, I’m a nerd). Not really social activities combined with social anxiety lead to a not so great social life in my case. But many of you guys who are reading this might be good at sports or theatrics or something else that’d make it easier for you to join clubs and meet people. Eventually I did join a technical club related to my major and enrolled for swimming (I love swimming now!)

Academics Should Always Be A Priority

With everything said, you’ve gone to college to study and hanging out with friends, parties, joining clubs, etc. only make sense if you’re scoring good. Obviously you shouldn’t be walking out of your college with books and memories instead but also a good job along with it. During my orientations one of my professors said, “You might like college right now, but if you only focus on making memories and don’t graduate along with your friends, you’ll hate college like anything” and I can’t stress this enough. Have fun but know when to study. As mentioned in the article, time management can help you go a long way without giving up on fun…or sleep. I’m just glad I learnt this early on.

These were some of the things I wish someone had told me before I went to college. It would’ve saved me a lot of time and energy. Since there was no one to give me these advices, I made sure that I am there for all the freshers. I really hope these tips gives you an edge in college and I wish you all the best of luck!