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Entry #10

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absent

Off to College

Posted by absent Sep. 4, 2009 @ 3:16 PM EDT

Today I pack for college, and tomorrow I hit the road. Only an hour or so away, but I guess you could say I'm a little excited to be going.

-------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------
tl;dr: I worry about college bullshit. Give me advice or wish me luck.
-------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- -------------

I've been absolutely swamped with "college advice," so I'm listing some here to get it off my mind:

Enjoy yourself. Make friends; take classes you enjoy.

Easier said than done.

However, I do expect to have lots of fun. I currently live in a neighborhood devoid of any people my age, and most of my social interactions happened in the classroom. Well, certainly not anymore.

And while I hope to take classes I enjoy, the nagging feeling that I must maintain a high GPA (in order to get into graduate school, get a "good" job, etc) remains strong. Should I explore my options and possibly face lower grades, or take classes I feel I have a better chance at a higher grade in (even if they might not be as interesting)? A classic dilemma.

Furthermore, if I take classes I enjoy, will everything I end up doing be useless? It seems as if unless I major in engineering, I'll be hopeless unemployed with a useless degree for the rest of my life. Not a true statement, but a true fear nonetheless.

But after writing that just now I think: who the hell cares if I don't get a "good" (read: high paying) job. I'll do what I enjoy, learn what I want, and I'll be ten times happier than if I do something I don't want to do. And in the end, isn't it all about happiness and enjoyment anyway? Plus, why the fuck should I care about what others may think of my "success?" What does that matter to me? Answer: it doesn't.

Talk to your professors. Go to office hours! Take advantage of your short time there.

Oh certainly.

At least, that's what I hope will happen. I've never been good at class discussions. I have no problem speaking in front of a class or expressing my opinion, but I'm not good at coming up with questions. What am I supposed to be asking? I did the damn reading, I understand what's going on, and I'm not confused. So how am I supposed to come up with some BS to ask about? An inconclusive problem.

Take advantage of all your opportunities! Join clubs, start clubs, network!

Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

There are approximately 230+ clubs my school, and I'm interested in about a dozen. A dozen? Like hell I'll be able to do all of that. I'll probably have the time to join one or two at the most. Ugh, now my writing is regressing. I really should have done more writing over the summer, because I'm going to be fucked when I get assigned three 15 page essays in the first week. BACK TO THE CLUBS:

Like I was saying, too many clubs to join, not enough time to do everything. I'm nothing but a horrible dilettante, and if I try too much this is never going to change. But what to focus on? Theater (I have no experience, but am interested)? Dance (I'm decent according to friends, but no experience)? Newspaper (and if so, should I become a writer or be a layout designer)? Sports?

I'm so done talking about this right now. Don't even get me started on "networking," since my experience is equal to zero.

Be organized! Don't procrastinate! Get all your reading done, attend lectures, and have a plan in mind for everything you do!

Fuck that.

I'm going to stop procrastinating? Maybe in magical fantasy land where whatever I write down in a blog can magically come true in real life. But on the off chance I'm living in a magical fantasy land, I'm going to do all my homework, problem sets, etc, as soon as they're assigned, I'm going to write essays days in advance, bring them to professors and others to look over and get criticism from, I'll be totally organized about my schedule, and I'll get plenty of sleep. Ok, did it work? I SURE HOPE SO.

I need to turn my life into a movie montage with 80s work music in the background, because otherwise I surely won't get anything done.

As for being organized, I still haven't decided what classes I'm going to be taking first semester (granted, I can't choose them yet and won't be able to know if they're all filled up by the time I have my chance to), so I only have rough ideas in mind. I've been told over and over again my advisors are not going to be terribly helpful, so figure I'll need to figure most of this stuff out myself, like what majors I should leave myself open to, and how I should plan accordingly. This shit be complicated.

.

That's all for now from this episode of "Nervous perfrosh worries about cliché college issues before even stepping on campus." Stay tuned next time for, "Worried first-week freshman complains about sluggish college administration and terrible food."

I CAN'T WAIT.

Updated: 09/04/09 3:16 PM Log in to comment! | Share this!

The People Have Spoken

7 Comments

Sep. 4, 2009 | 3:23 PM Figter says:

Oh shit..you're a mod... HELLO THERE SIR! mind some coffee?

Sep. 4, 2009 | 3:37 PM absent responds:

Damn, I shouldn't have deleted your first comment. The sequence of comments was funny :(


Sep. 4, 2009 | 3:47 PM Malachy says:

I'm a Senior in college now. here are a few things:

don't worry about your major. Seriously, if you're looking at going to graduate school, all they look at is your GPA and whether you took a reasonably challenging course load (so, a PE major may not be the best choice). And honestly, nobody cares about what degree you have, your diploma is only going to say "bachelors of science" or "bachelors of art", it won't mention what program you took.

class discussion: the name says it all. it's a discussion. You don't have to come up with questions to ask. If you understand it, you can bring your own opinion/understanding of the text to class. I'm not saying shoot everyone else down, but I've found it easy to participate in class. Answer questions you know, hell, even questions you aren't sure about. It's OK to be wrong, it'll be better to find out in class than after an exam. Teachers don't mind if you say something stupid, in fact most are more concerned with making sure you actually talk.

clubs/organizations: Those aren't the ONLY thing to do. There will be campus events all of the time from sports games, pick up games, clubs, concerts, movies, dances, and more. Hell, I've never joined an actual club or organization and have still participated in campus activities. If you're swamped, you don't have to go to everything going on.

Organization: It's all about finding what works for you. Me? I use my calendar for Gmail to send me emails a day or two before assignments are due, quizzes and tests. I will unplug my wireless modem if I'm getting distracted by the computer or I'd go find a quiet room. Use your school library if you need to get shit done. They usually have a "quiet room" so you can tone out everything.

classes: Take a bunch of different kinds of classes. Most schools have a "add/drop or withdrawal" periods where you can drop the classes without affecting your GPA. usually in the first week or two of classes, registration is totally open and you can switch your classes around a bunch until you get what you want. Up to about halfway through a semester you can withdraw from a course if you think you are bombing it and get a W on your transcript (It wont effect GPA, it's just a notation). With your first two years, try to take as many of the retarded gen-ed requirements as you can, so that when you do finally choose a major, you can focus on that.

You'll do fine. First and second year classes aren't as crazy as you would think.

Oct. 7, 2009 | 12:27 AM absent responds:

This reply has been a long time coming, but after being at college for a little, you're so right. Thank you :D


Sep. 12, 2009 | 12:18 PM Figter says:

U DELETED MAH COMENT! :O shaaaame on you >:(


Sep. 13, 2009 | 11:33 PM jakenator85 says:

Good luck! And please, if you want to succeed, DO YOUR FUCKING WORK AND TURN IT IN ON TIME! You hearing this from a guy who failed 2 classes for doing the exact opposite.


Sep. 28, 2009 | 12:49 AM Tykwa says:

cant wait


Oct. 2, 2009 | 1:11 AM Goonie says:

Also, if you see a class offered and not signed up for it. Just go attend it. The professor may not care or mind at all. Go learn what you can. Heck, with the amount of money you will be spending you may as well attend to any class that your interested in.


Oct. 4, 2009 | 10:51 PM ILoveTheBBS says:

We're no strangers to love
You know the rules and so do I
A full commitment's what Im thinking of
You wouldn't get this from any other guy

I just wanna tell you how Im feeling
Gotta make you understand

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

We've know each other for so long
Your hearts been aching
But you're too shy to say it
Inside we both know whats been going on
We know the game and were gonna play it

And if you ask me how Im feeling
Don't tell me you're too blind to see

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

Give you up. give you up
Never gonna give
Never gonna give, give you up
Never gonna give
Never gonna give, give you up

We've know each other for so long
Your hearts been aching
But you're too shy to say it
Inside we both know whats been going on
We know the game and were gonna play it

And if you ask me how Im feeling
Don't tell me you're too blind to see

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

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