7 THINGS I WISH I KNEW AS A UNIVERSITY FRESHMAN
Being, a freshman especially in a new environment gets a lot of students excited and anxious. Most likely, it comes with regrets and even consequences. This might sound personal but it wouldn’t be complete not being able to state the obvious mistakes people make and which I made too. With a countdown:
7. I wish I wasn’t in a haste to make friends
Being in a new environment, makes you open to a whole lot of anxieties. In this situation you actually feel like sharing the burden, this is what calls for making friends. For instance: In some universities, you practically find queues after queues and surely you would find it difficult to move around especially when you are late. At this points, if you don’t learn to culture your anxiety, you would be in a haste to make friends.
This exact act happens not only on campus but in the dorm and so many other meeting points for students. In other words, you must learn to keep your cool. Making friends is quite necessary but making them in a haste should be avoided. Take responsibility, ask for help, be polite and end with a thank you.
6. Trusting people’s decisions/opinions than mine
If you learn to keep your cool, many others may want to rely on you. Be open to the fact that there are different strokes for different folks. When they get close, be polite enough not to push them away but be careful as many people want you to absorb to their values even if they are wrong. They have had a wish list since high school to have a team. Knowing someone doesn’t make you friends, understand that. Overtime, you can make a stable decision over that. When they pose their thoughts on you, be careful to vary. And yes, keep their contacts, it would be helpful if they are responsible.
5. Getting Intimidated over the wrong reasons
You must have a hold over yourself. Everyone looks good in their own way and while being a fresher you can get very intimidated. Many people seem to know better than you, they can get a lot, much easily than you do and they also communicate better. Some people take the whole of their lives getting ready to put up a show while some are confident, take a note of the fact that you are different. You have to build your self-esteem before becoming a fresher and you need to know what your main attraction in the university is. This is because the reason you are intimidated might be quite superficial and not a necessity so, get on with your life! Know why you got that admission among thousands of students and understand that what’s going on around you isn’t a determinant of your success but what’s going on inside you.
4. The Norm is not usually what it seems
Get ready for scary statements and norms that seem impossible to break. Mind you, you’ll hear them before you see them.
Being a fresher, it is best to be an optimist. The lecturer/professor of last year could be different this year. The sophomores you meet may go far in describing their fears to you, well, it was also done to them- a tradition may be. Accepting these fears before you meet with reality can be quite a horrible step.
Sometimes, you have to detach yourself from the flow. You need your own experience to get your own conclusions most of the time. The worst people have favourites and you just might be the person. Be open to opportunities, don’t accept fear!
3. Don’t Underestimate anyone
Actually, no matter how dumb anyone may look, you cannot determine their potentials. Respect everyone and don’t look down on anyone. 4-7years cannot be compared to a lifetime. The university is a small world, your impact there is important. Don’t be like the snake that passes a rock and leaves no trace. Also don’t be the kind of person that bites back immediately when stepped on. Your little acts build your resume, not everyone has a chance to correct their errors.
2. Love doesn’t just happen
Love is too big to be jumped into. Being in a small world on your own isn’t a ticket to being an adult. Permit me to say, “Don’t be in a rush to grow up”. There’s a life for you to live, there are a lot of fun things to do and a rushed into relationship isn’t one of it. Amongst many things you would wish for is an identity of your own as a fresher. You need to maintain that identity at least while you still have a stable focus and mind you being alone doesn’t mean independence. Love isn’t a relationship, it begins with friendship. Maintain friends and soon enough you know when you are mature for a relationship. Being a Freshman isn’t a time to rush into a relationship. Love is accepting people and watching them grow out of their faults, it exactly isn’t being in dream land each time you see him/her. You’ll likely be in for an emotional blackmail.
1. Have a little fun
It’s your first year, you have to build your grades, yes, but don’t be too serious that you cannot engage yourself in sports or other leisure. Visit the zoo, the beach, go sight-seeing once in a while. Ensure you live a balanced life, don’t be too static. At a particular time in your life, you’ll have to share those stories.
Ensure you leave a good trace of who you are in the hearts of people you meet.