First semester of college - DONE! My advice, thoughts, and expectations.

My first semester of freshman year is done! Fall semester was definitely one for the books. I met some of my favorite people, made so many memories and I learned that I absolutely (still) hate biology. Whether you're already in college or you're a soon-to-be college student, college is one of the best experiences I've had so far and I hope yours is just as memorable.

Meet my cute roomie, Ali

No, I do not plan on changing my major or intended career and no, I do not plan on transferring. That's a successful first semester, right? My first semester was everything that I hoped for. I've met tons of great people, have the best hall mates and RA, and I just love CSU and the atmosphere. Although our sports teams aren't the greatest, the sporting events are so fun to go to. And now I can rightfully give Cam the Ram the biggest shoutout. You're the best, Cam, you keep doin' you.

Anyways, last semester was nice for getting in the routine of a college student life, where you're independent enough to live basically on your own, but you still have RAs that will tell you to go to your room, or even better, tell you to go to bed. Fall semester was just a big transition stage where you finally get acclimated to the campus and where everything is, you get used to dining hall food (and tired of it really easily), and you're used to seeing your hall mates with bed head. You also learn that parking on campus really sucks, and 10 PM Walmart trips are very much essential.

I'm super excited for spring semester, new major specific classes and to be back with everyone on campus. I'm definitely not ready for chemistry to kick my butt the whole semester, but we'll somehow find a way to get through it.

Here's my first semester advice in a sentence: biology sucks, don't ever have an 8 AM, and put yourself out there. It also went by incredibly fast, so make sure you value the time you have. Now, I'll explain a little bit more in depth. Here's my top pieces of advice related to college but for everyone:

1. Prepare yourself to be the best teacher you've ever had.

In some classes, you might have to teach yourself the course. Yes, you heard me right. You'll pay a portion of that professor's salary and won't learn anything, except how to present and read word for word a Google slides presentation that is also online for the whole class to see outside of class. This semester, I retained a ton more from myself and YouTube videos than listening to my biology professor's monotonous voice as he rambled about cells.

2. Use online resources.

A lot of professors put study guides, sometimes free exam questions, helpful videos, and other things on their website pages, so use them! They are so helpful. Quizlet, of course, is also helpful in a ton of different situations. Sometimes you can find specific quizlet study guides for exams if you look up your school and teacher that other students have made. Another lifesaver is Crash Course on YouTube. Hank and John Green saved my life this semester. They have playlists of different subjects ranging from psychology to biology to history to chemistry, and they cover a ton of material.

3. Don't take early classes if you're not a morning person.

I, most certainly, am not a morning person. The earliest class I had was 11 AM all semester and sometimes I struggled getting up in the mornings for those. Getting in the habit of sleeping in and skipping your early classes may not be the best idea, so try your best to avoid earlier classes if you despise the mornings.

4. Put yourself out there and meet new people.

Keep your door open on move in day, explore your dorm and hang out in the lobby, and go to all of the events. The first month or so you're going to constantly be surrounded by people trying to get you to join their clubs or greek life organizations, and you'll attend lots of events so take advantage of them. Some of the events may seem repetitive and not any fun, but they are the best places to meet new people. You'll also add a lot of people on social media and never talk to them again, so beware for that too.

5. College is all about networking and less about grades.

Yes, your grades still matter in college, and your professor can basically grade your assignments and essays however they want so you never really know what grade you're going to get, but in your future career, the people you know and how you got there is going to matter most. Start searching for internships as soon as you can and meet people within the field you want to be involved in. The more people you know, the greater your likelihood of being more successful in a career. Experience is more important than your grades.

6. Make time for yourself, ALWAYS.

This may not seem important, but it is the most important piece of advice I can give to everyone, college student or not. You will always be consumed with work, school, and too many obligations to count, but it is so important to make sure you take time for yourself. It is totally okay to take a break from your work (school or job related), and spend an hour watching an episode of something, or hanging out with friends. I took a whole class on leisure, and it was very eye-opening and the key thing I took away was: your leisure time is just as important as your work.

& my other cute friends!

I know I'm not a professional, but I do hope everyone can take away at least some piece of advice from this post. If you only skimmed through the advice, great, but just know college is fun, so make the most out of it!

Today's Blog Post Bop:

"Winnebago" by Griffin, Quinn XCII, and Daniel Wilson

Cheers,

Ariana J. Bagley