Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting College

Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting College:

Hi lovies! So excited to have you here to read my next blog post! This one goes out especially to all my fellow college friends: here are some of the tips, tricks, and more I wish I knew before I going into college. Let’s get into it!

First things first, college can be A LOT. Not only do you have to live away from your family for the first time, you have to take care of yourself, get your work done, and make new friends all at the same time. Not only that, but because you are on your own, you are now your biggest (and only) advocate. When something doesn’t go your way, you don’t really have your parents there to go meet with your professor or call your friends’ moms about their behavior. It is all up to YOU. YOU are the sole driver and creator of this experience. So how can you manage all of this at the same time? Here’s some things that have helped me: 

Managing Stress Before It Builds

I know college students are typically the type to procrastinate, but in my experience this is just not a practical way to do work! You’ll probably get extremely exhausted and burnt out if you have to spend hours upon hours trying to get that one long paper done before you put it off. Instead, why don’t we incorporate small daily tasks that we can do to get everything done? When it comes to schoolwork, I may schedule multiple assignments to do each day, but they’re never extremely long or time consuming. Instead, they are small pieces to the puzzle that will eventually come together to make the finished product (the final assignment). Also, my biggest tip is to start everything early, whether it’s assignments, essays, or test prep! Trust me you’ll feel so much better by the time that class is over. 

Have a Planner? USE IT!

This one is truly a non-negotiable for me. I’m so Type A I even schedule out times to do my laundry! Truly planning out every day in the week allows you to see what needs to get done when, and ensures you’re not overloading yourself on any specific day of the week. Having every day in my week be equally balanced with multiple not-so-hard tasks is the reason I am able to stay successful and not burn out. Plus, a schedule keeps me from getting distracted!

Your Mental Health Matters as Much as Your Grades.

No matter who or what tells you otherwise, even if it’s the little voice in your head doing so. To be successful in college, longevity and your health is so important. You simply cannot do well if you aren’t fueling yourself, whether it’s with enough sleep or food. Taking time out to rest, reflect, and truly take amazing care of yourself and your health will take you so far. For me, I love doing my self-care rituals (yoga, meditating, and journaling)  and I try my best to do them every single day even if its for a short time. 

You HAVE to Advocate For Yourself and Stay Firm in Your Boundaries

This was a huge-culture shock type of lesson I learned my freshman year. I had a group of friends at the time who clearly were using me for the fact that I had a car and treated me like an Uber Driver. At a party, I had stated that I wanted to leave early (I drove), and in the end they forced me to stay longer than I wanted to. I should’ve said no and simply left, and knowing what I know now, that’s probably what I would have done if it happened today. Never let anybody make you uncomfortable or have you jeapordize your own boundaries to make them happy! Make YOU happy by standing strong in them!

Your Best Friends Will Probably Come When You’re Not Looking:

I joke that my best friends in college basically popped into my life out of nowhere, and now I’d consider some of them being my bridesmaids at my wedding. One small, seemingly insignificant decision, like commenting on a girl’s Instagram post or deciding to go to a club meeting can actually be a catalyst event for meeting your closest friends! This is why it’s also so crucial to be kind to everyone you meet and to challenge yourself to go out and meet people whenever you can, especially in your first year! Most of my friendships that I tried to force didn’t end up working out, so try to be authentic and make friendships organically!

I could truly go on and on about college and what I’ve learned, but I fear this post is already long enough! I do have more to share about this though so let me know if you’d like this as a kind of mini-series! Thank you guys so much for reading this week’s post and I will catch you in the next one <3

Love your favorite undergrad, 

Apama <3