After four years of wonderful yet trying university education, I came out scathed, but with a lot of lessons learned. For those experiencing college for the first time, allow me to share some lessons with you.
1. Inaction forfeits any goal.
It was Victor Hugo who said, “There’s nothing like a dream to create the future.” In college, I learned, there’s no failure like a dream with no corresponding action.
Sometimes, when we’re young, we tend to be too quixotic. We’re easily lured into thinking that merely wanting something can change the mechanism of the universe and make all things work in our favor.
But after spending four years in college surrounded by thousands of students every single school day, I discovered that even being the most gifted is never enough to ensure success. Those who set goals and actually take all the necessary steps to achieve them are always the ones with better track records.
I think it’s even safe to say, whether you’re in or out of college, exerting effort is always a major requirement to getting what you want out of life.
2. Be yourself.
Okay, okay—it’s the mother of all self-help clichés, but it exists for a reason.
All the moments that made me cringe back in college are those moments when I attempted to look, speak, and act like someone I’m not.
A part of me is convinced we all have the natural ability to detect whether or not a person is comfortable in his or her own skin, or is at least a bit genuine. When we sense that someone’s being unnatural, doesn’t that turn us off?
I learned that being yourself is essential to finding your own niche, building a long-lasting social circle, and getting your piece of happiness.
Besides, for something that always crumbles on people, a facade is always too taxing and exhausting to put on.
3. There’s a lot beyond college.
It’s true that life in college is fun, but life beyond college is exciting!
Free overseas education and travel opportunities are just a couple of things open to students. Google hard enough, and you’ll see many legitimate local and international organizations welcoming young, talented individuals to hone their skills.
Going into extra-curricular activities is always a good way to expand your network and to discover things that could make your life more interesting.
Hundreds of programs for young scientists, debaters, writers, artists, and entrepreneurs are available. The National Youth Commission at https://nyc.gov.ph/ is one of the many good resources for those seeking to enrich their education.
4. Wear good shoes—literally.
Whether or not you care about fashion, good shoes should be a staple.
As far as podiatry is concerned, it’s a way of taking care of our ever-battered feet. But for college students who spend a large amount of time shuffling from one building to another, good shoes can also be time-saving and can prevent embarrassing moments.
Poorly-made shoes have rendered me immobile several times. There was one afternoon I had to spend sitting on the floor, while waiting for a classmate who willingly bought me an adhesive so I could fix my already sole-less ballet flats.
On a worse day, I just heard croaking behind me, which turned out to be the sound of me losing another sole. Adhesive didn’t fix my problem that unfortunate school day; I ended up limping my way home.
Do yourself a favor, and buy a good pair of shoes! But more importantly, enjoy all the roads you’ll soon be walking on.
