Let’s reminisce on the good times and the bad reflect on everything we missed Cause you know we’ll never get it back.”
— From Big Sean’s “Memories pt. 2” ft. John Legend
This day six years ago, I started my undergraduate journey and participated in New Student Orientation. Wow, I’m really getting older, huh? As I’m scrolling through my social media feeds, I’m seeing so many students commence their collegiate experiences, and I’m feeling nostalgic. I’m thinking about how different of a person I am now than I was when I started school.
There are many things that I wish I could go back and change that I’d like to share. My intention in sharing this list is to provide some insight. By sharing my own misfortunes, I hope a college freshman reading this list can avoid some of my mistakes and do more than I did as a student. Here are 10 things I wish I knew before going to college.
1. To Be More Open-Minded
When I started college, I came in with this strict religious background that dissuaded me from doing a lot. There were certain places I wasn’t going to go and certain people I didn’t want to be around. My thought process was very closed-minded and held me back from experiencing so much of college in the early moments there. My freshman year was strictly classes, glee club, and going to church. It took me until my junior year to really begin having fun—the fun I should’ve been having from the start.
2. To Exercise Regularly
The freshmen fifteen is no joke. I look so thin and happy during my first weeks on campus. I’m not sure what happened to me later. I’ve grown to love intense cardio and the feeling of weight training. I wish I would’ve found this productive pastime my first year of undergrad.
3. Read For Fun Regularly
Reading is such a positive activity. It allows me to expand my mind and become a more empathetic human being by exposing myself to different narratives. Unfortunately, I didn’t start reading strong until the second semester of my sophomore year. Imagine how many more books I could have read if I started sooner.
4. Make Going To Office Hours A Habit
Relationships with professors should be a top priority in school. It is your professors who will be recommending you to jobs, writing your letters of recommendation and a significant influence in your academics in school. One of the best ways to seal these relationships is to visit professors during office hours. I wasn’t the kind of student that was going to office hours after class. It is something I would highly recommend to all students.
5. Be Willing To Make More Friends
There came a moment during my junior year, where I had a solid group of friends that I enjoyed being around. Once I started hanging with this hand full of guys, I literally put a wall up to meeting other new people. I feel like this caused me to miss out on a lot of great students on campus that I could’ve built a solid relationship.
6. Practice Good Eating Habits
During college, I used to eat so much Which Wich and Chick Fil A that it wasn’t even fair. Eating poorly and not being physically active was my downfall for sure. I had a meal plan and I feel I should have been more intentional about what I was putting in my body. Less root beer, more water. Less fried chicken, more vegetables. All of those things.
7. Take More Trips
Due to being in the Glee Club and never having the money or time, I never went to Miami or Panama City Beach. During my freshman year, I spent my Spring Break on Spring Tour with the glee club. My last three years of undergrad, I sat in my room during Spring Break and watched anime. College is a once in a lifetime moment to be surrounded by friends. I wish I would’ve taken more road trips and had fun going on adventures.
8. To Document The Experience
College is such a wild ride, and it comes with so many highs and lows. As a storyteller and writer, I wish I would’ve either done YouTube videos or journaled my days. To witness my development first hand in written form and reflect on it now would have been incredible. Thankfully today we have Instastories that archive our lives for us. When I began my freshman year, Snapchat was just starting to become a thing.
9. To Contribute More Than Criticize
I’ve been told that while I was in college that I was very critical of my peers. While my intention was pure, I know my delivery was poor. I wish that while in school, I was more interested in supporting people where they were instead of knocking them down further. No one likes to be crapped on, and everyone can use help every now and then. I would have far more friends now if I would’ve contributed to people’s efforts to be successful instead of criticized them.
10. To Find Ways To Make Money
College is no time to be broke. There is a market of potential clients and customers right at your disposal. Knowing what I know now about creating value and monetizing skills, I wish I would’ve made more time to be an entrepreneur in college. I could’ve been editing papers, writing resumes, and so much more. Maybe even cut hair. To anyone starting college I strongly suggest assess your skills and seeing which ones can make you money on the side.
College is a great time to try new things and learn about yourself. If you’re entering college this year, please reflect on my list of should-haves and act accordingly. I also encourage to map out some goals of who you want to be at the end of your college experience and do your best to become that person. I hope you look back on your time in college and smile, knowing you gave it all you could.
If you’re a college graduate what are some things you wish you would’ve done in college? If you never went to college what are some activities you wish you could’ve done? Greek life? Join a club? Ran for student body president? I’d love to hear your feedback to this article.