A Message To Incoming Freshmen from a Senior
–
As I sit here pondering the eight ( yes, eight! ) years this college
experience has taken me, I would like to reflect on some things you will
encounter as you march along the college road. Am I some expert guru whose
wisdom will guarantee you success, or even steer you towards some magical
destiny? No, I am not. I leave that kind of advice to mystics on mountain tops
and to fortune cookies. What I can offer is perspective and the hope that
(perhaps?) my words will be encouraging where needed, as well as sincere.
Everybody comes
from different paths where college is concerned so let me get that out of the
way right now. Some people do it because their parents insist, some because they
need a degree to advance forward in a career, and lastly because they just want
the experience for their life-journey. While I will predominantly speak to
the last of these, each can benefit from my story.
I am an English
Major who was once a Film School student with 2 years of experience, a (very)
small business history record, and very good connections within said fields (
school and the professional world). I experienced a major set-back regarding my
college plan and seemed to have three choices:
11
Move to NYC or LA and try my hand at another
film school, or just work towards screenplay writing.
22 Continue with the CSU Degree Plan, regardless of
the hiccup(s) there would be.
33
Move home to Texas and seek continued education
w/ family and friends as support.
I went with option #3, primarily because I did want a degree
in SOMETHING after so much time having been put into the whole experience. This
brings me to point one …
POINT #1 – Don’t be afraid
to be undeclared … or to change majors.
College is an experience meant to test
your ability to stay with a subject, to commit to the good courses ( my
Arthurian literature classes, Ghost Plays, and Literature for Science Majors in
my case ), or the ones I was atrocious in ( Modern Grammar, Linguistics, etc…
). I loved them all, however. I may not have exceeded in, say, Civil War Poetry
& Political Cartoons, but my professor did a wonderful job and I learned.
Regardless of the course, college is an exercise in commitment. It can teach
you how, despite possible misgivings about a task, to stick with it and soldier
on. I know Contemporary Mathematics, Biology I-II, and Basket-Weaving 101 have
*nothing* to do with my major, but then again how does Training Seminars in
some businesses relate to fact that you might work in another department and
you’re expected to attend anyway? You go ( to the classes and the seminar )
because you are committed to getting your task done.
Still, what if you
are genuinely not happy with the major you are in? I would advise you speak
with your Advisor, as well as a professor in the major you are in whom you
might feel comfortable discussing your situation with. Afterwards, if you still
feel like the major you are in is not for you, work with your Advisor and
figure out the best path for you.
Also, don’t be
afraid to talk to advisors in other majors while you are listed as Undeclared.
Use that time to feel out your strengths, what your school offers, and how
these things can work together to give you the best for your future.
POINT #2 – Don’t
pursue your MR or MRS Degree, at least not at the cost of your education.
This is something I
actually hear people discuss in hushed whispers and yet nobody ( at least,
nobody I know of ) speaks out against.
College is for learning about yourself, your goals, and how you will handle the
unexpected. Some people however view college as the place to exclusively find
their future husband or wife.
Please, if you have
this notion, table it. Put it aside. Go a year without trying to exclusively
hunt your college like a savannah huntsman ( or huntswoman ) looking for a
target. In college you very likely don’t even know yourself yet, so how can you
expect to meet somebody who is likely to be the exact same person they will be
when the college experience is over? Odds are, very unlikely. How unlikely is
it that you will also come out of college having fully prepared for getting
that job if you are more focused on dating and hubby/wife-hunting? Again, very
unlikely.
Please understand I
am not ignoring romance, or genuine attraction. Those things will always trump
whatever plans a person makes, however what I am speaking out against is the
act of thinking college is where you MUST find that “special someone.” Follow
your career and education path to where you need to be to properly sustain yourself,
and focus on a special somebody if you are lucky enough, but I would advise you to not have the latter trump the first. You owe your future Mr/Mrs a person who is
dedicated to completing tasks and proving him/herself capable of getting a
steady job.
But, again, genuine
love always trumps the best laid plans. Follow love if it manifests, but don’t
force it for the sake of a schedule.
POINT #3 – Get work on or off campus if possible … but
don’t work too much!
Everybody knows
college costs money, and money these days seems hard to come by. I would
advise, where situationally possible, to pursue on-campus work. This might be
pursuing something as major-specific as working in a math lab, or even as broad
as working for the college bookstore. Jobs are not always easy to acquire so
ask for an interview in person with the manager ( in addition to having your
own resume handy, a physical one in addition to any online resumes submitted )
and follow up at least to say ‘thank you’. I know it might seem like a lot of
work, but the extra cash and the connections it brings are as important as
anything else you learn from college – you learn how to take care of yourself.
POINT #4 – Talk to anyone and everyone, and meet new
people, too. Socialize.
This one might seem
like something that is hit or miss, and it very likely is, depending on the
person reading, but I think it needs to be stated – college is for expanding
your horizons and this also means with people. STOP. This does not mean “meeting
new people for sex” or “meet new people as you drink down beer and pass out at
a party.”
I am talking about
genuine human to human interaction. Get to know the people you are sitting next
to in class. Talk to your professor during his/her office hours and do it
without having it be an assignment. Get to know the people who work in the
library, or your major department office, etc…
College is an
experience that brings together diverse amounts of people, possibly more than
you might feasibly ever get to meet again in your whole life. Take the time to
learn and experience as much as you can from these people.
