4 Things I Wish I Knew Before College – Musings of a College Graduate
Like many college graduates across the nation, I’ve spent the last few weeks being fed anecdotes and exposes about what life is really like in the post-graduate abyss. I’ve heard words ranging from “scary” to “exciting”, “stressful” to “stimulating”. It’s easy to empathize with this anxiety and sense of the unknown that seems almost universal across the Class of 2014. Taxes, retirement savings plans, and insurance plans are about as comprehensible to some college graduates as hieroglyphics. The idea of finding our “passion” and our “purpose” looms as we try to remain “flexible” in the job search and justify our intriguing prospects for post-graduate employment.
A lot of people have been asking me one strange and daunting question, “What do you feel like you’ve taken away from college? What advice do you have for other students?” Yikes. It left me thinking back to what I didn’t know as a freshman. Disclaimer: I can’t claim to be an expert. I haven’t written any New York Times bestsellers or gotten any PhDs. Do not take these words as those of a specialist, preacher, or guru, but simply a student. If you are a high school student, college freshman or even a graduate like myself, I present to you a collection of lessons I’ve learned at the University of Maryland that I wish I knew earlier:
Identify Your Own Vehicles For Success – What does success mean to you? For the longest time, I thought it meant getting a good job and making money. Standard. Through college however, I’ve gone on to expand my perspective of success and now I feel that my definition revolves around empowering and inspiring people. My sense of pride arises from teaching and helping others. Your definition of success will change, as will your habits. It’s not bad to take advice and learn some new useful habits, but don’t force something upon yourself that will not fulfill you. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been recommended books about “What The Top Ten Most Successful People Do Daily.” If you strive to emulate your life around others, you’ll lose track of what works for you. If you write your best papers the night before they are due, don’t let people tell you that you “should be more organized” or that you “should plan better.” If you’re nocturnal and do your best work at night, embrace it. Different things work for different people. Personally, I worked best under pressure, procrastinated a lot, and was fine. Find out what you want, find out what works best for you and