Saturday, June 19, 2010

Anonymous asked: Hi, I just discovered your blog a month ago and I love it! I just had a question about college life in general. What advice would you give to someone about making the most out of his/her college experience? I just finished my first year of college, but I wish it could have been better. Thank you!

Thanks! Here’s my advice:

1. Live it up. Go out on a Tuesday night when you have a midterm the next day. Eat like you have the metabolism of a 12-year-old boy. Spend spring break in Mexico. I did all of the above, and I turned out fine! Don’t let anyone or anything hold you back, except maybe the police. On top of that, explore the city you’re in. One of my biggest regrets is staying in the college / La Jolla bubble — I missed out on a lot of the unique neighborhoods that surround us. Seeing as I highly doubt I’ll ever move back to San Diego, I’m disappointed in myself for not taking more advantage of the beaches, the music scene, etc.

2. Meet more people. If I could go back in time, I would drag myself out there to lame freshmen events and join clubs that would probably be irrelevant to my future. While at the time, I thought, “How will being in this club make a valuable impact on me or my career?” now I realize that it’s less about what the organization actually does, and more about the friendships and connections you make. Among nearly 24,000 undergraduates, I can count on one hand the number of people I’ll still talk to in 10 years (not including my high school friends that attended UCSD). The internet probably exacerbated that problem. But still. It’s just kind of a shame.

3. Don’t let your education go to waste. I can’t say I’m not a little bit guilty of this: Being a Communication major was just *OK* — it was difficult for me to get into the material (Foucault and I are not just on two different pages, we’re on two different floors of the library altogether). With the exception of my history classes, oddly enough, I didn’t particularly enjoy the “academic” part of my academic career.  Find something you’re truly passionate about instead of just going along for the ride.

4. Study abroad. Going abroad is, was, and will probably always be the best thing I ever did for myself. I took classes with international students. Experienced major culture shock. Got my heart broken. Traveled to 10+ countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Taught myself to fend off lewd Greek men. Met absolutely amazing lifelong friends. Did a lot of questionable things that you can only get away with when you’re 20, American, and abroad. All the stereotypical partying aside, I’ve never lived and learned so much in five months. And I now have a place to stay in Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington DC, Texas, Florida … and maybe even Lebanon and Nigeria, too.

Posted at 2:00 PM 8 notes

Notes

  1. seojie said: LOL on Foucault. Don’t forget Rodney King and Horkheimer among others!
  2. teresawu posted this