ESL Blogs

If you're an incoming college freshman, you're probably looking forward to greater things to come. I don't want to burst your bubble, but college isn't all happy and fun times. I'm saying so because I learned it all the hard way. Maybe by writing and sharing about my experiences will help people avoid the same thing happening to them.

You're not going to be able to party as much as you thought.

If you're looking forward to long nights of dancing and booze and dates, well – sorry. The truth is that you'll hardly have time for that, especially if you want to finish college on time. Limit the partying to special times when you absolutely have to celebrate – you'll enjoy them more that way.

The independent life isn't as cool as it looks.

For a lot of people, going away to college means getting a taste of the independent life. You're probably looking forward to being away from a place where there's parental supervision, and you're probably expecting to have the time of your life. Sorry, but living alone isn't that simple. A couple of days in and you're sure to be homesick already.

Outside appearances aren't everything.

Never ever judge people by how they look, and don't start avoiding someone just because he dresses weird. You never know – there may be a great personality lying underneath the clothes. They're just outward appearances, after all. There's more to people than that.

Get schoolwork out of the way as early as you can.

Do trust me when I say that you have to do your academic papers now. Do it now, and you won't regret it later. Do it now, and you'll have tons of time to do whatever else you feel like doing. Do it now, and find the time to hang out with friends and party through the weekend later. If there's something you can do which you're sure to never regret, it's working on schoolwork/coursework now.

Avoid getting on your professors' bad side.

In fact, it's best if you can just get on professors' good side. To do this, avoid being late to class. Participate when you can, too. Show your professors that you're serious about finishing college and that you're going to do everything you can to do it. Show your professors that you're likeable as a student.

Respect everyone if you want people to respect you.

The more time you spend in college, the more you'll realize that the people around you are actually maturing. There should be less bullies around now – but if there still are, just remember to return everything with kindness. Respect everyone around you, regardless of whether you like one another or not, and you'll be respected as well.

Master the most important life skills early on.

And what do I mean by that? I mean all the necessary survival skills, of course! Going away to college sometimes entails living alone or in a dorm, so it means having a shot at independence. You'd better learn how to do the simple things – cooking, doing the laundry, all the usual housework that you may have been able to avoid doing when you were younger. You may also learn how to be presentable with other people especially if your course requires you to do that. One good example is the Education degree where you need how to look professional in front of the students, plus a little makeup will do, so you need to apply some beauty course.

You don't really have a choice – you'll have to face this sort of thing at some point in your life. Why not practice now?

But you also need to make time for friends if you want to keep yourself sane.

You can't do everything on your own, and surviving college as a loner is going to take tolls on your mental health. Find people who you can hang out and laugh with, and you'll feel better about yourself.