All I See Part Deux

Some things from a conversation with a friend about college that I'm sure someone, somewhere, sometime will find helpful:

Understand the system. How blackboard works, how office hours work, how lecture/discussions work.

Figure out how you personally learn. Is it more effective for you to spend your time reading over lecture notes or reading the textbook? Are you an auditory or visual learner?

What are you a geek for? What do you find yourself reading about online in your free time? This helps when deciding what to major in.

In each individual class you take, don't do assignments in hopes of getting a really good grade. Each decision you make should be geared towards learning from the assignments, not towards what will get you the highest grade possible. For example, be sure to learn things in hopes of being able to retain that information later, not just memorize things the night before the test, just to forget those things two weeks later. I've been on both ends of the spectrum, and not only does the first option make things easier, but it's a lot more fun as well. This leads me to my next point.

Major in something that genuinely excites you. Don't major in something because it'll guarantee you a job in the end. I know it doesn't really make sense, because I guess the goal of being in college is to get a better career after college, but I can't imagine having to suffer through four plus years of learning about something that isn't that exciting to me. Learning about stuff that I geek out over is so much easier for me. Then again, this is coming from the perspective of a second year student, so maybe my opinion is too immature to take too seriously. Maybe I have it all wrong, and I'm going to end up jobless after college. Who knows. hahaha

This applies all throughout life, not just in college, but watch who you surround yourself with. It really affects who you become and the decisions you'll make.

Enjoy it all. Everything about college is unique. You have access to a lot of things that you wouldn't have access to otherwise. You see people from all different walks of life. You can make all sorts of social commentary just by spending a day on a college campus. Sit in on a lecture or two, sit on a bench watching the world of people pass you by, eat in the commons, walk around in the library. There's millions of things happening on a college campus that can't be seen anywhere else.