While it may be comforting to vent about an issue with a close friend, advice is most reliable when it comes from someone at a further stage in life. In college, students approaching graduation can be oracles to first-year students. By utilizing their acquired knowledge, graduates have the ability to ensure that the incoming class can be better equipped for the challenges ahead. Otherwise, when they leave school, their wisdom leaves with them.
Setting expectations
Beginning the first year of college is one of the biggest transitions a person can experience. Especially if one is alone and far from home, it can feel as if one’s life is left behind with no evidence of who they used to be. While it may be overwhelming, this surge of freedom can lead to one experiencing a personal renaissance in which they feel more like themselves than ever.
“Freshman year was my favorite,” said Deven Patel, a senior majoring in finance. “Everyone you meet is all in the same boat — just trying to explore college and have fun.”
However, new experiences can only stay new for so long. Once one has adapted to their new environment in college, the campus may feel smaller and less exciting. Not only is this completely natural, it’s better in different ways.
“When you get older, there’s more you can get involved in. I enjoyed being able to take on a leadership role within the Honors College,” said Ellie First, a fourth-year student pursuing her master’s degree in advertising and public relations. “With that, there’s a lot more people that I’ve met throughout the past two years of college.”
As things slow down, we grow as people and have the opportunity to embrace change. When one door closes, another one opens.
Finding roommates
Among an incoming class of first-year students, everyone shares the advantage of having a clean slate. While this makes it easier to find people you enjoy spending time with, living with someone you’ve never met feels like rolling the dice.
“I went random and I actually got super lucky, they’re one of my closest friends now,” Patel said.
However, leaving things up to chance doesn’t always go smoothly. Roommates with irreconcilable differences can end up being stuck together in a lose-lose situation, and strong contrasts between living preferences can be a recipe for disaster. If choosing a roommate is an option, there are things to consider.
While things such as cleanliness and mutual respect are more obvious standards to hold a roommate to, the person’s personality can make the difference between a roommate and a friend.
“I’m more extroverted, my roommates were more extroverted, so that’s how we made a lot of friends together within our dorm,” First said.
Choosing classes
With tools such as Coursicle and Rate My Professors, the current generation of students is more equipped than ever when facing its incoming course load. But while these tools are the most significant in terms of preparing students for course selection, there is still more a student can consider to maximize the enjoyment of their classes.
By taking classes unrelated to one’s major, there’s an opportunity to gain broader knowledge while trying exciting new things. “Even if you know what you want to pursue a career in, some of my absolute favorite courses that I’ve taken are things that haven’t been in the advertising and public relations department,” First said.
Achieving social and academic balance
When attending a school as socially active as The University of Alabama, it’s easy for a person’s academics to dwindle without them noticing due to how much fun they are having. A balance can be achieved through moderate discipline supplemented with organizational skills. “It’s really easy to get overwhelmed, which is why it’s important to have that balance,” First said.
Academics should always remain the first priority, and it’s wise to miss out on fun once in a while. However, if it is ever possible to experience new things without any risk of academic misfortune, it would be tragic to miss out on incredible memories when there is nothing to lose.
Missing it
Especially in an environment as lively as a college campus, four years can be very eventful. While experiences vastly differ, it’s hard to imagine that anyone could leave somewhere they’ve been for years without missing at least one thing.
“College is the one time in your life, unless you’re really lucky, that you are in a 5-mile radius of all of your best friends. The proximity and sense of community that being in college fosters is really special,” First said. “I think that’s something that I’m definitely going to miss.”
In addition to having an unforgettable social life, college can be a time where students have more independence and control than ever. “I’ll definitely miss the freedom of having my own schedule and having a lot more time,” Patel said.
Making the most of it
Time is an exhaustible resource. Students may face very different problems from one another in their college years, but the one problem that is omnipresent is the fact that college will end. College can be anywhere between awful and wonderful, but it will never happen again. This is the time in a student’s life where they struggle with their desires and decide who they want to become.
“Being involved is good. This is the one time in your life that you get to be involved in all of these different organizations,” First said.
