Help! I’m going to college…now what?

Hey y’all!

You’ll be ok…

And as a disclaimer this is just my opinion plus I talk about relationships and other noneducational topics so prepare yourself 🙂

Here’s some things I’ve learned from going to college that’ll help you keep your head on straight and your pockets lined with cash!  I’m joking about the cash.. you actually might be broke all throughout college but anyway… lol

1. You don’t know what you should major in, it’s ok you and thousands of other people are in the same boat

You’re never alone in this, sometimes I wish I would have interned or had a job in accounting before I majored in that field but things don’t always work out that way. If you do have an opportunity to gain experience in your field of interest take it! Even if it doesn’t work out, you’ve gained valuable work experience. Take your general education courses first. Essentially you’re buying yourself time to figure out what you want to do. In the meantime ask your friends about their majors and attend career fairs to get exposure to different jobs. If you’re clueless on what your major should be take an online career test. They help you to find a career based on your interests and strong suits which is one thing your school counselor, parents, and friends might not be able to help you with. Speaking of other people and their input on your career choice, ask family and friends for their advice but take everything with a grain of salt. You know you best! People always have their opinions on what you should do with your life but at the end of the day this is YOUR life. Make it your own.

2. I paid for this thing, so now I’m good! Right?

Scholarships, grants, loans, etc. There are a million ways to pay for your tuition but here are some things I wish I knew before paying for school. Scholarships and grants are the way to go. Even if you have to write a 5 page essay on why turtles exist to get someone to front your school bill take it! Try your hardest to find something other than a loan you have to pay back. If you have to write an essay or complete a project in order to receive the funds do it! You’ll learn something in the process. If you’re already in school you can still qualify for scholarships and grants. Keep looking even if you’re in your sophomore or junior year there may be something for you. If grants and scholarships don’t work out and you must get a student loan…Start paying the interest on your student loans WHILE you’re in school. Interest does this thing where it compounds once you stop taking classes. This is when all the interest your loans accrued (accumulated) over 4, 5, 10 years while you were in school become part of your principal loan balance. Here’s an example for clarity..$25,000 in student loans over 4 years with interest of $5,000 essentially becomes a student loan of $30,000. Once you’re done with college this $30,000 accrues interest every year until it’s fully paid off which means you could end up paying $34,000 for classes that cost $25,000. Doesn’t make sense? I know… just remember that you can and should pay your student loan interest off before you graduate! For me personally if I had paid just $30 every month to cover my student loan interest I could have saved $6,000-$8,000 over all. If you fail a class you have to take it over again which means you pay for it over again and you’re really wasting your own money. So, try not to fail! As my coworker said to me this week C’s get degrees 😂 . Not D’s or F’s! Not showing up for class one day out of the week, every week, because your sick and tired is really not helpful. Try your hardest to get A’s and B’s, this is your life! Get excited about it and the fact that you have the privilege to learn. Some people don’t get this opportunity so make the most of it!

3. Picking classes

Don’t wait to pick your classes. Choose them as early as possible and every year check to see what the credit requirements are for your major. Your requirements can change and you are now responsible for keeping track of this. Your counselors will try their hardest to help you decide what classes to take but sometimes things change and the counselor could be working with outdated information. Fact check everything. Check your curriculum and make sure the classes you’re enrolled in count towards your major and aren’t only electives. Pick electives that interest you. Find out your professors teaching style from other students and online course reviews. This can be the difference between an A and a D. If your professor has a teaching style that you know doesn’t work for you, go to someone else’s class! If that’s not possible try to go to their office hours and get a tutor if you need extra attention. Do what’s best for you not what all the other students are doing.

4. Studying/Dealing with Stress

This is going to take self discipline. Find the best time for you to study and put studying before other engagements. Create or find a study group that studies every week and not just during finals time. Sometimes you’ll have to pull all nighters, but studying consistently will help you grasp the material well before exam time. You may be stressed out and not even realize it. Some physical signs of stress are picking up unhealthy habits, anxiety, and constant exhaustion. Physical symptoms of stress are usually the last sign meaning you’ve been under stress for a while or are experiencing a significant amount of stress at once. It happens to everyone, so try to deal with it in a healthy way. Drinking and smoking as stress relievers probably aren’t your best solutions to deal with stress. Try to do something else to relax. I’ve found some good ways to deal with stress are to play video games, read leisurely, hang out with friends/family, and take walks outside. It’s also helpful to relieve stress by exercising and doing group activities during the week. Anything to get your mind off the pressures of school and everything else in life.

4. Relationships are key

I will always be an advocate of any place that puts you with a bunch of people you don’t know and says “Live”. This is college. A bunch of people that don’t know each other trying to figure out what they’re supposed to do in life. This is also “adulting”. A bunch of people that don’t know each other trying to figure out what they’re supposed to do in life. So get out of your comfort zone! Talk to people from your class, join organizations, get in with your teachers and get to know as many people as you can. You may or may not have the capacity to build life long relationships with everyone you meet but once you get in contact with them everything changes. You can build relationships with people you only spoke to a few times in college outside of college. You really never know! I’ve met and started relationships with people I only saw every once in a while during college and they’ve added so much value to my life. It’s great to know people, build bonds with people, and just grow! Especially within an organization. People will remember you for how you made them feel. So leave them with something that’ll make them smile and say “Hey, I remember you!” the next time you see them.

5. Friendships/Romantic relationships are high key

Your group of friends are everything! They will influence you and sometimes you don’t choose them. They choose you. This can be a good and bad thing but every experience is for a reason. Always make an effort to support and show up for your friends. Quite often your college friends end up being the lovely people at your wedding, baby sitting your kids, and offering you job opportunities. College is a fresh start for you to make new friends so make the best of it. Romantic relationships? Go for it! I’ve seen plenty of college sweet hearts get married and build beautiful lives together. I would just say hold your horses on calling every girl/guy the one and really get to know them. By getting to know them I mean build a friendship with them, a kissing, rubbing, touching free friendship. There’s nothing worse than being in a romantic relationship for 6 months only to realize the person you’re with has some major issues and/or is just not right for you. The relationship may never be the same after you come to that realization, hurting both you and the other person. This is why I lumped friendships and romantic relationships together. You should never, I repeat never, get into a romantic relationship with someone you can’t call a friend. Friends are dependable, honest, care about your wellbeing, thoughtful, encouraging, loving and so much more! An example of this is Jesus. The ultimate friend. No one will ever be 100% like him but anyone with fruits of the spirit like his is someone you want to keep close to you.

6. Partying and peer pressure

Don’t party. Go to class. Haha. But honestly be safe! Talk to your friends about the protocol for parties whether they’re in the daytime or at night. If you know when you go out you tend to wander off by yourself tell your friends to keep an eye on you. Any friend who refuses to do this for you and tries to say you’re grown look out for yourself etc. is not a friend at all, and laughing after saying that doesn’t make it a joke. They were serious! Be weary of this kind of person because they more than likely will leave you hanging out to dry if things happen. My friends always had an idea of where I was or would blow my phone up if they couldn’t find me and vice versa. Go out in groups of at least three for bigger venues. Other people will attempt to get you alone with them and away from your friends for only God knows why but don’t let people drag you off into the abyss. I’ve heard so many horror stories and the common thread I realized is a lack of communication between the group before going out. It’s one thing to look out for yourself but it’s another thing for people to look out for you and vice versa. It all goes back to being a friend. The people that care about you care about your safety. Make it easy for the people you go out with to check up on you and stay safe. This means stay alert, learn your limits on drinking, smoking or whatever else. If you don’t want to drink etc. do not let anyone pressure you into trying! Some people are insecure about doing things by themselves or they don’t understand you so they try to peer pressure you. Just say you don’t want to join and you love them anyway!

5. Additional tips

Have no fear just change your major. Like I said it’s your life, if you’re in a major and realize you’d rather pursue something else, change it. You’re never too far in to turn back. College may not be for you and you’re not letting anyone down if it doesn’t work out. You will be successful regardless! Make sure your decision is spirit led and don’t rush to drop out because you failed a class. Get back up and try again. College isn’t a place where you find yourself it’s where you define yourself. Define: state or describe exactly the nature, scope, or meaning of. Stay true to what feels right to you. Do what you’re passionate about and be open to new experiences. Have fun, stay focused, and get around people that will push you to be great. This is one chapter in the many wonderful chapters of your life and I pray you will find fulfillment every step of the way!

Many blessings,

The Encourageher