College Help Part 3/4

Go check out the previous two weeks to see the first 6 tips. You won't want to miss it :) 

7. There may be free counseling at your university. Do it. Just try it. You can talk about whatever which is sweet. You can gab about your annoying roommate, talk about how you don’t want to be there, or talk about all the things you thought were true about counseling. There will probably never again be free counseling available to you.

8. Speaking of trying things, you can try things. You don’t have to, I didn’t, but you might like them. A friend of mine named Alex had a college rule to try anything three times. If after the third time it was lame, then he didn’t force himself to go any more. I don’t straight up regret not doing stuff, but my college experience would have looked a lot different if I had gotten involved early/at all. 

9. This may be the first time in your life you share a bathroom with someone. My first year, there were two rooms that had a sink and mirror joined together by a bathroom with a shower and a toilet. Here’s some basic tips- talk about what kind of responsibilities there are for bathroom cleaning and how often it’s going to happen. Is everyone going to leave all their shampoo in the shower or do you take it out every time in a bathroom caddy (get one they are cheap and useful for when you go home). If there’s free toilet paper, do you get one every Wednesday? Who changes the garbage- the first one to crack or is it a written responsibility each week? Will the hair ever leave the floor or will it be there always. I had a suite mate who pooped in the shower and didn’t clean it up. She sometimes would use the bathroom and not flush. So don’t think all the things you find as common sense expectations for bathroom usage are the same as your suite mates. Also, may be a good idea to pick a side of the sink for your stuff and your roomie’s stuff.

9a. This isn't really about bathroom etiquette. But know that when gross/ hilarious/ disgusting/ unbelievable things happen, they will one day be super funny college stories to swap. In the moment it may make you mad, but don't forget about it because one day you may laugh. There is some crazy college folklore out there and it probably happened to someone somewhere. 

Next week is the last part of this college tip series. I reserve the right to add more whenever :) 

College Help Part 2/4

Check out last week's post for tips 1-3

4. If you need to use something, use it. If you have dandruff, don’t hide that head and shoulders shampoo. I prefer Clear scalp & Hair therapy shampoo. The truth is, if I don’t, then I get dandruff and like to wear black so I gotta use it if I want to be looking fresh. If you have some special face cream that keeps you from being a crater face, use it. Let other people know your beauty secrets. Don’t be ashamed to do the things that make you feel confident (within reason. probably don’t wear a cape to class but if you do, do it confidently.) 

5. Be nice to your parents. If you feel like they are hounding you for information, they likely miss you and are showing interest in your life. If they don’t call and you feel they have forgotten you, they are probably trying to give you your space. They don’t know how this college thing works with you yet either. Even if you have another sibling who has been to college, you haven’t and you know you’re different than they are. If you are feeling smothered, say something. If you’re feeling neglected, say something. Open communication and honesty, people. That’s the key. Whatever you tell them, do it nicely. You’ll kick yourself for being a jerk to them. 

6. On the same wave of communication, if you need help, seek it out. The ladies at the registrar’s office at Indiana Wesleyan were information angels. Older people in your program can help in telling you which classes and profs to take. A prof can suggest other resources for studying or reading. Also your advisor. Well, maybe.

     6a. Personal anecdote: When I came to college, I was predeclared, aka I didn’t pick a major. I was assigned a “find out what you want to be” course as a freshman rather than an “all the freshman who picked your major together so you can get to know them” group. This course was lame for a number of reasons, including that I was pretty sure I wanted to study psychology but I didn’t want to commit because I was scared of the stigma. I actually waited until the end of my second semester to declare a major. This was problematic because I had an advisor meant for people who were predeclared. He didn’t know a lot about individual programs because that’s not his game. The university auto-assigned me an advisor for my major and my minor. When I was registering as a person who had a declared major, I didn’t know I still had to get my classes approved. I thought that was only for people without a major. So I picked my classes, marched to the office, and said, “I am looking for this guy because it says he is my advisor” and that guy happened to walk in and he was like “listen, little lady [or something equally condescending], you are mistaken. I am the advisor for addictions counseling which is your minor so that is wrong” but I had no idea how to switch my advisor so I said “OK but could you just click accept?” and he said “ok” and he did. Turns out, I needed to be in a sophomore seminar that I didn’t know existed. An advisor would have known that. It ended up being fine because, spoiler alert, I transferred. But even if I had stayed there, I still could have graduated. I ended up taking a psych seminar as a senior. LAME. It’s meant for freshman. Take it when you’re supposed to if you can help it. 

Next week there will be more tips :)

College Help Part 1/4

College is not an exact science. There are all different ways to do it. As someone who is still in the college life but has already done a lot of it, I feel I am the perfect person to write this guide. This is not the be all end all list of things to know about college. This is a general guide but I have a feeling a lot of will apply wherever you are or wherever you might go. I’m trying to use phrases someone might search when they’re trying to prepare for college so they can find this. Maybe someone would search “college freshman guide help” or “things I need to know for college” or something to that affect.

1. Buy yourself a stapler and staples. Don’t be that guy who shows up to class with their paper typed and asks the prof for a stapler. It’s not their job to bring it. When you turn in your stapled paper, feel free to look down your nose at those who are scrambling. Just kidding. I liked the completeness of knowing the only step left was to turn it in, not an ‘ok my paper is done but I hope someone has a stapler I can use’ feeling when I finished my work. 

1a. A teacher is called a prof and it’s pronounced like ‘cough’ not ‘proof.' It’s appropriate to say “Prof Erickson” or “Professor Erickson” until they say otherwise. I have had profs request to be called by their first name and it was always weird to call him Dave. Don’t call out “Teacher” or “hey prof” because that’s weird and not respectful. Let someone else do it and watch your prof’s reaction. 

2. Get a printer. This is not as necessary as a stapler. When I bought my computer for college I got a free printer. Of course, ink and paper isn’t free. This is the same principle as the stapler— when you’re done writing your paper, there’s a sense of completeness to have it printed, stapled, in your backpack and ready to go. If you have a paper due in a general education class (gen ed), you can bet that the library printing queue will be jammed with people trying to print and then run to class. Avoid the craziness. Get your own printer. It won’t be a one-time thing. You will have stuff to print and you will be ready to print it when the library is not open. I had a wireless printer but with the school’s Internet system and my room’s router, the signals always got crossed. I had to get a cord that connected my printer to my computer and I don’t know how much it costs but it gave me an “I know I can rely on this” feeling. You can figure out how to split the cost of it if your roomie wants to use it too, like each buy the ink one time or she buys the next pack of paper. 

(See how 1 and 2 are both about alleviating some kind of minor life anxiety? There’s going to be a lot of stress in college. Removing small stressors will make the big stuff not seem so tough because you won’t have had to deal with a zillion other things already) 

3. Find many places that are your home. My friend Maggie spent time in Zambia and she explained that for a while, she only felt at home in her tent. Eventually that was too small of a space for her to be herself, so she also made the campfire ring a comfortable ‘home’ and her seat in the Jeep, etc. At college, you’re going to have to find new places to be home. Hopefully, your room is a safe, comfortable place. Bring home-y things like warm lighting lamps and pretty pictures of things you like and soft pillows and comfy blankets. Maybe a rug, even if there is carpeting. Bring some stuff from home. BUT you can’t just be comfortable in your room or you’ll never leave (been there done that). Find a table at the coffee shop where you can be you. I don’t mean take off your shoes and brush your hair there (yuck, seriously don’t) but you have to be comfortable somewhere else besides your room or even smaller, your bed. Find a table in the library. Find a study spot upstairs in the building where you have classes. You’d be surprised all the places there are tables and benches just waiting to be used by you. They are meant for you. As a student, they are provided for you to use. Clean up after yourself if you eat there (which in most cases, you totally can) and don’t sit by an outlet if you don’t need it because aren’t you kind of bummed when someone is sitting by an outlet and not using it? Ugh. 

More tips next week :) Sorry to end this one on a sour note of "ugh" but that's life sometimes.