By: Sierra Hall
Sierra Hall, you are a soon-to-be college graduate. Crazy! I know! Your time as an undergraduate at AUM did not come without trial and error and one too many cups of coffee. I’m here to tell you that you did well, but you could have done it great, with a few tips from your more established self. So this is an open letter to you, Sierra and any other freshman who has been thrown into the big pond that is college.
First things first, you do not know who you are and your first semester of college will not be where you find yourself. You’ll be in a whirlwind of social situations where you see someone who seemingly has it all together, they absolutely don’t. It sounds harsh but we all fake it until we make it. What you can do though, is find someone whom you admire – not for their superficial qualities or ability to look flawless through an SEC game day, but for them, find the person who has the skill and mindset your ideal self would have. Ask them to be your mentor. Ask them any and every question you have related to school, life, and how they handled their first semesters in college. Then promptly after, take yourself to the Counseling Center and make an appointment. Now you are probably thinking — therapy? That’s for crazy people and I am not crazy! But the truth is, for the first time in your life your support system may be hundreds of miles away and unable to provide adequate mental health support. You don’t have to pour your heart out to your counselor or tell them your deepest darkest secrets, but you can complain and vent about the things you were not prepared for. And the best part? They will find the solutions to the gaps in your overwhelming first few semesters. They are here to help you and serve you. Allow them to do so and develop vulnerability because you are not a burden. But a burden you will find without their help is the weight of the world.
Second, you’re going to feel intimidated by your professors. They are human just like you. They want to see you succeed and learn. You probably won’t love every professor that you have but you will learn something from each one. You can talk to them about what you’re struggling with in their class, so take advantage of the time you have with them. This relationship will help you identify weaknesses and strengths in your learning process and help you be more successful moving forward. Introduce yourself, make small talk when you can and remind yourself that they are not against you. And when you just can’t seem to get it right on those quizzes, tests or papers? Go to the Warhawk Academic Success Center. It’s free! They will help you figure it out and sometimes, they will even feed you during their informational sessions. You can raise your grade and munch on some goodies.
Third but I think this is the most important. It’s well known but not taken advantage of. Go to the free events! Your tuition covers every one of the events you see on campus. Go to them! You can find new friends and new hobbies while releasing stress from your classes. Do not isolate yourself in your dorm and doom-scroll social media wishing you had a friend group. You can find one or two at these events. It may seem silly to go to a Zumba class or paint on the Quad or even do an inflatable obstacle course but those moments feed your inner child because you are not a full-grown adult just yet.
Don’t rush the process. Take it one day at a time. Have fun. Fail a few times but also get back up. And most importantly, don’t take that 8 a.m. class, be real with yourself about your sleeping habits. You won’t make it in time. But you will make it to the finish line and receive a degree that you worked hard for, in the end.