If you are anything like my 17-year-old self, you cannot wait to get out of high school. Those four years of cliques, pointless busy work and excruciating humiliation felt like a lifetime to me. I wasn’t challenged by the work, I was unimpressed with the social hierarchies and I felt like I was completely trapped. Not to mention I was painfully self-conscious. And then I went to college. I’m 21 now and am much, much happier. And it is because I put high school behind me and became the person I wanted to be. Here’s how you can ensure your college experience will trump high school:
Forget first impressions: When you start college, you will meet a lot of new people in a short amount of time. Guess what? Very few of them will be acting genuine. Everyone is desperately trying to fit in those first few days and no one will be acting natural. So if you meet someone annoying during orientation, try to give him or her the benefit of the doubt. You will probably make a lot of friends if you just put the first meeting out of your mind.
Decide not to be embarrassed: I am very, very shy. Just walking up to a stranger is torture to me. However, I had to let go of this trait when I started going to Naz.I decided to be a little bit bolder, and started introducing myself to random people in my classes and in my dorm. And I made a conscious choice to ignore my embarrassment. I’m a lot more confident now. I’ve even tripped and fell on campus without caring. In high school, that would have ruined my day. Now, it’s mostly just funny.
Speak up in class: Okay, so I did this in high school. But participating in class discussion has helped me so much more in college. I’ve made more friends by speaking out in class, and I’ve also gotten to know some of my favorite teachers by sharing my opinion. Actually, if I hadn’t participated in my Intro to Media Studies class, I would not have the awesome mentor that I have now. But I did and I do. And you should too.
Be open-minded: This is probably the most important thing to remember about college. Try things you think you will not like. Hang out with people you do not know well. Take classes that are not specifically for your major. The fun of college is discovering new, unexpected people and ideas. If you tackle this experience without any biases or preconceptions, you will be pleasantly surprised.
Alright, that was my spiel. All of this helped me change from a high school misfit to a content college student. Keep this in mind when you transition to college. But until graduation, just remember: the best is yet to come.
Written by Rachel Montpelier. Rachel is a senior at Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y. and is the editorial assistant at NextStepU.
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