This weekend I’m heading back to my alma mater, Towson University, for the homecoming football game (but let’s be honest, I’m really in it for a stop at my favorite college town restaurants). It’s had me thinking about my college experience and how it got me to where I am now, things I wish I knew, things I wish were different, and things I look back on fondly. Below are a few pieces of advice from one post grad to current college students.
- Think about your future. This seems so obvious, but I don’t think it’s something everybody actively does while in school. I know I wasn’t really too concerned about it until mid way through my junior year. I was involved, had jobs on campus, and did well in my classes before then, but I was doing those things more because I wanted to and less because I was truly thinking about how they’d help me when college was said and done. Get internships, join clubs that are actually relevant to the career you want, and have experiences you can learn from. The whole point of college is to get a job, but unfortunately you can’t just graduate and say “I did it!” and expect to get a good job anymore. I’m grateful for the experiences I had, both good and bad, and the work I put in my senior year to graduate with what I think was (and still is) a great job in my field. I only wonder what additional opportunities I could have had if I was more focused on it earlier on.
- Treasure the now. There’s something so special about college when all of your friends live so close to you and there’s always something going on. That’s one of the things I miss most about being a college student. Now I need to do anything from drive an hour to FaceTime with friends because they live too far away to see them. There’s also a lot of people I was friendly with in school and I really enjoyed their company, but I don’t have a real relationship with them anymore. Time and distance really does change things. I definitely miss walking across the hall into someone’s dorm room just to see what’s going on or grabbing lunch with people on the fly. It’s a luxury you won’t have once you graduate.
- Be proud of your school. This is something I think about all the time now that I’m done. I enjoyed my time at Towson for what it was, but I always hated how many people didn’t want to be there. It just makes for a disappointing atmosphere that could easily be changed with a good attitude. Towson wasn’t a bad place to spend 4 years, but it would’ve been a lot better if people gave it some credit and learned to have some school spirit.
- Don’t forget that there’s more out there. Some people think that college has to be the best 4 years of your life. If it is, great! I definitely have some amazing memories to look back on and experiences I’ll always treasure. I met some very special people and had some great times. That said, college was not the best 4 years of my life and that’s perfectly fine by me. So don’t feel like you have to convince yourself that they were, or that nothing will ever be better.
Just An Ordinary Adventure 